Doubts about the future of Embraer’s joint manufacturing venture with China’s AVIC II group were largely laid to rest by the time Harbin-Embraer Aircraft’s biggest Chinese customer, Hainan Airlines Group (HNA) subsidiary Grand China Express, took delivery of its first airplane last September. After all, a firm order for 50 Chinese-made ERJ 145s in August 2006 as part of a larger order that included 50 Brazilian-made E190s had promised three years of work for the new factory. But things had looked a lot less certain only months earlier, when, as the 2006 Asian Aerospace show approached early that year, a backlog that had dwindled to just two airplanes threatened to shut down Embraer production in Harbin altogether.
Thankfully for new Embraer commercial vice president Mauro Kern, he and new chief executive Frederico Curado didn’t have to endure questions about that prospect as we approached this year’s Singapore show. Still, the Grand China Express order accounted for the plant’s entire backlog, meaning that any hiccup at the airline could land Harbin-Embraer back in the same spot it found itself a year ago. Well aware of the implications, a nevertheless “cautiously optimistic” Kern remained in active discussions with other potential customers in China, as well as those in export markets in the region, to ensure that doesn’t happen.
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