The Boeing Co. is looking at south metro Atlanta for a warehouse and distribution center that could approach 1 million square feet — the latest mega project for the region’s booming logistics sector. The aerospace giant (NYSE: BA) is working with third-party logistics provider XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO), which has been touring south metro industrial properties this year and may be focused on Clayton and Henry counties. Industrial real estate developers with projects along the Interstate 75 corridor south of Atlanta have competed for the Boeing facility, which could range from 800,000 square feet initially to eventually more than 1 million square feet. Developers have seen a request for proposals for the project, according to real estate sources familiar with the process.
LONDON (Reuters) – Jaguar Land Rover (TAMO.NS) is making a multi-million pound investment to build electric vehicles in Britain, in a major boost for the UK government and a sector hit by the slump in diesel sales and Brexit uncertainty.
Britain’s biggest car company, which built 30 percent of the UK’s 1.5 million cars last year, will make a range of electrified vehicles at its Castle Bromwich plant in central England, beginning with its luxury sedan, the XJ.
“The future of mobility is electric and, as a visionary British company, we are committed to making our next generation of zero-emission vehicles in the UK,” Chief Executive Ralf Speth said on Friday.
The announcement gives a boost to Britain’s automotive sector hit this year by Honda and Ford’s (F.N) plans to close factories.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has highlighted the dangers of a no-deal Brexit and the need to maintain frictionless trade with the European Union, echoing warnings from the industry that just-in-time production could be hit by customs delays and additional bureaucracy.
But it has signed a deal with workers at the Castle Bromwich factory to go from a five-day to a four-day working week with the same amount of hours which should allow the plant to operate more efficiently.
Three of JLR’s four European car plants are in Britain, giving it limited capacity elsewhere on the continent.
The other, in Slovakia, only opened last year and is still being ramped up with other models allocated there.
“We are making this investment because the ongoing Brexit uncertainty has left us with no choice, we had to act, for our employees and our business,” JLR said.
“We are committed to the UK as our home and will fight to stay here but we need the right deal.”
Both candidates to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, have both said they are prepared to take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 without a deal, although it is not their preferred option.
Brexiteers have argued that the EU’s biggest economy Germany, which exports hundreds of thousands of cars to Britain ever year, would do its utmost to protect that trade
Friday’s announcement comes after a turbulent few months for Jaguar which announced around 4,500 job cuts earlier in January and posted a 3.66 billion pound ($4.5 billion) loss in 2018/19.
The carmaker is undergoing a turnaround designed to offer an electrified option to all of its new models from 2020 as it seeks to move away from its reliance on diesel vehicles which are being increasingly shunned by buyers.
Jaguar also called on the government to bring giga-scale battery production to the country so that Britain is not left behind in the rush to produce low and zero-emissions vehicles and technology.
Britain’s business minister Greg Clark said the government was doing all it can to meet that goal.
“We are determined to realize that ambition,” he said.
($1 = 0.7952 pounds)
Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Michael Holden and Jane Merriman
FILE PHOTO – A car hangs on the wall of Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich manufacturing facility in Birmingham, Britain, November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Staples
The business year 2018 was an exceptionally successful one for Pilatus, but also a challenging one. At around 1.1 billion Swiss francs, sales revenue was brought back to the billion mark again. The 128 aircraft delivered in total included the first PC-24 – a milestone in the company history. All in all, 18 PC-24s were handed over to customers in the past year.
Financial 2018 was better than the previous year. At 1,092 million Swiss francs, sales revenue surpassed the one billion mark for the first time since 2015. The operating result totals 157 million Swiss francs. And the future looks good: following incoming orders worth 1 billion Swiss francs, the current order volume stands at 2.1 billion Swiss francs – the equivalent of just under two years of sales revenue. A total of 128 aircraft were delivered to customers – 18 PC-24s, 80 PC-12 NGs, 27 PC-21s and three PC-6s.
PC-24 in focus
Pilatus PC-24 Jet
The delivery of the first PC-24 to the first customer in February 2018 marked a milestone in the development phase spanning over eleven years. The brand-new Super Versatile Jet was the focus of much work throughout 2018: besides bringing PC-24 series production operations up to speed, the customer service unit and entire service network also switched to “live” mode. Pilatus continued to make improvements to the PC-24 in parallel, pushing ahead with various post-certification test programmes aimed at delivering all aircraft capabilities promised to customers at the outset. The next milestone is just around the corner: the reopening of the PC-24 order book.
Customer service business grows in both pillars
Whilst the military sector is hugely important to Pilatus, the lack of new trainer fleet contracts in 2018 is not unduly worrying: Pilatus is focused on the necessary upstream work and has reinforced its sales efforts in this area. Constant growth in after-sales business is encouraging.
Pilatus PC-12
The Business Unit General Aviation also saw continued expansion of its customer service operations. The volume of PC-24s in operation grows with every week that passes, generating similar growth in the number of customers requiring support. The network of Authorised Pilatus Centres was further strengthened to offer customers around the world the level of service they are entitled to expect in the business aircraft league.
Preparing for success in the future
At the end of 2018 the Pilatus Group employed 2,283 people, including 127 apprentices. Over 150 new jobs were created. 93 percent of all employees work in Switzerland. At the headquarters in Stans work progresses on the construction of the new structure assembly hall: this new centre of competence for airframe construction operations will be commissioned in spring 2019 – a clear sign of commitment to the location in Switzerland.
Pilatus PC-21
The new completion centre run by the US subsidiary Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd in Broomfield, Colorado, opened in the autumn. In Adelaide, preparatory work continued for the construction of a new, company-owned building for the subsidiary, Pilatus Australia Pty Ltd.
Commenting on these results, Chairman Oscar J. Schwenk remarked: “I am pleased to note that financial 2018 was a very successful year for us. A year in which a great deal of energy went into performing much detailed work. Work which will take us forward throughout the coming year, creating added benefit for our customers. The good financial results of the past year will also benefit our employees under our profit-sharing programme. In addition to an extra month’s salary, they have also been paid a bonus of 1.5 salaries. Our next challenge is already in sight: the imminent re-opening of the PC-24 order book. This is the year in which the reputation of the PC-24 and all other related services will be established. We are consistent in our efforts towards that goal, thereby consolidating our success and our future.”
Paris / Munich, 6 February 2019 – France and Germany have
awarded the first-ever contract – a Joint Concept Study (JCS) – to
Dassault Aviation (stock exchange symbol: AM) and Airbus (stock exchange
symbol: AIR) for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme. The
launch of the JCS was announced by the French Minister of the Armed
Forces, Florence Parly, and her German counterpart, Ursula von der
Leyen, at a meeting today in Paris.
The decision by both countries represents a milestone to secure
European sovereignty and technological leadership in the military
aviation sector for the coming decades. Starting date for the two-year
study is 20 February 2019.
Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, said: “This new
step is the cornerstone to ensure tomorrow’s European strategic
autonomy. We, as Dassault Aviation, will mobilize our competencies as
System Architect and Integrator, to meet the requirements of the Nations
and to keep our continent as a world-class leader in the crucial field
of
Air Combat Systems.”
Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said: “FCAS is one of the
most ambitious European defence programmes of the century. With today’s
contract signature, we are finally setting this high-technology
programme fully in motion. Both companies are committed to providing the
best solutions to our Nations with regard to the New Generation Fighter
as well as the systems of systems accompanying it. We are truly excited
about having been given this opportunity and appreciate the trust
placed in both our companies.”
This planned Next Generation Weapons System will consist of a highly
capable manned “New Generation Fighter” (NGF) teaming with a set of new
and upgraded weapons as well as a set of unmanned systems (Remote
Carriers) linked by a Combat Cloud and its Ecosystem embedded in a
System-of-Systems FCAS architecture.
The JCS is based on the bi-nationally agreed High Level Common
Operational Requirements Document (HLCORD) signed at Berlin Air Show ILA
in April 2018 between the Defence Ministers of France and Germany as
well as respective national concept studies.
Its aim is to conceptualise the different FCAS capabilities and to pave the way for future design, industrialisation, as well as an estimated full operational capability by 2040. The study will prepare and initiate demonstrator programmes for launch at the Paris Air Show in June 2019.
Rafale B de l’Armée de l’Air Française en opérations extérieures (Opération Serval) – Vue en vol au dessus du Mali. Equipé de la nacelle Damoclès et de GBU-12.
The Philippines’ leading airline, Cebu Pacific (PSE: CEB), is set to receive 12 brand new aircraft in 2019, to support the carrier’s expansion plans this year. The aircraft deliveries include six Airbus A321neo; five A320neo; and an ATR 72-600.
The A321neo boasts of 236 seats, 56 seats or 31% more capacity versus the A320. This will enable CEB to offer more seats and maximize airport slots. The aircraft is capable of operating routes in excess of 5,000 kilometers or fly up to seven hours, allowing the carrier to explore new destinations like India, Russia, northern Japan and other cities in Australia.
“2019 is the year we accelerate growth. On average, we will be receiving one brand-new aircraft per month which we can use to increase capacity in key markets or even launch new routes. For 2019, we expect capacity to grow from low to mid-teens,” said Lance Gokongwei, President and CEO of Cebu Pacific.
The CEB fleet is currently comprised of an Airbus A321neo, 36 Airbus A320, seven (7) Airbus A321ceo, eight (8) Airbus A330, eight (8) ATR 72-500, and 12 ATR 72-600 aircraft.
CEB boasts of one of the youngest fleets in the world, with an average fleet age of five (5) years.
“Cebu Pacific is expanding rapidly and plays an important part in the transformation of the Philippines’ aviation sector and has played a key role in supporting tourism, trade and business links between the Philippines, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East,” said Jean Francois Laval, Executive Vice President for Sales in Asia of Airbus.
CEB is aiming to fly 200 million passengers by 2020, as it expands its route network and upgrades its fleet to bigger and more fuel-efficient aircraft. The carrier hit the milestone of 150 million passengers flown since inception in late 2017.
CEB and subsidiary Cebgo fly to 36 domestic and 26 international destinations, with over 107 routes spanning Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and USA.
From L-R: Manuel Antonio Tamayo, DOTr Undersecretary for Aviation; Lance Gokongwei, President and CEO of Cebu Pacific; Jean Francois Laval, Airbus Executive Vice President for Sales in Asia; His Excellency Nicholas Galey of the Embassy of France to the Philippines and Micronesia.
