Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries yesterday said it will establish a wholly owned subsidiary to produce commercial aircraft components in Hanoi, Vietnam. Plans call for the new division, dubbed MHI Aerospace Vietnam Co., Ltd. (MHIVA), to begin assembling metal aircraft components by the spring of 2009, starting with flaps for the Boeing 737. MHI credited Boeing for supporting the initiative, launched in an effort to lower labor costs and focus Japanese resources on “high-value-added operations.” 
Capitalized at $7 million, MHIVA will open in January with 50 employees, but plans call for an expansion of the workforce to about 200 once production gains momentum. Mitsubishi has chosen a 4.7-acre site in the Thang Long Industrial Park, some 10 miles northwest of central Hanoi, to build a production plant covering 43,055 sq ft in floor area. Production schedules call for delivery of flaps for two airplanes each month early in 2009 and eight a month by the end of 2010, followed by 10 each month in 2011. Although parts for the flaps will at first come from either Japan or neighboring countries, such as Malaysia and China, Mitsubishi expects MHIVA will gradually expand local procurement in Vietnam as its industrial base develops. 
The move follows a wider industry trend toward shifting production outside of home countries. “The company decided to locate MHIVA in Hanoi, Vietnam, not only because it was able to secure a production site within a Japanese-affiliated industrial park with a good industrial infrastructure, but also in view of such factors as Vietnam’s diligent labor force, robust economy, stable public security and the presence of overseas transport routes,” said Mitsubishi in a statement.

Mitsubishi To Build Boeing 737 Flaps in Vietnam

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries yesterday said it will establish a wholly owned subsidiary to produce commercial aircraft components in Hanoi, Vietnam.

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