At the 10th Biennale Aero India held in Bangalore this week, among the many global defence giants was Brazil’s Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica) selling both defence and executive aircraft.
Embraer’s story is one that India’s own Hindustan Aeronauticals Ltd (HAL) should emulate.
Embraer was created in 1969 by the Brazilian government, just a few years after HAL was established. HAL had a head start over Embraer: it began as privately-owned Hindustan Aircraft in 1940 and made its first aircraft (PC 5 A) as early as 1941. But HAL then fell behind from lack of ambition and vision.
Embraer in comparison, was nurtured by its government, and is now the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world. At $6.2 billion its revenues are over twice that of HAL’s. Its biggest customers are the airline companies of the U.S. and Europe. It has sold executive jets to the Indian government and private individuals, and has a $2.9 billion order for 50 aircrafts from the new Indian regional carrier Air Costa, whose fleet of four is entirely Embraer aircraft. The company also makes military aircraft, planes for agricultural spraying and is a global pioneer in the use of ethanol as aircraft fuel. In addition to a Sao Paulo listing, Embraer shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Embraer is now a role model for companies from the developing world seeking to debunk the fiction that high-tech products originate only from the developed world.
23/02/15 R. Viswanathan/Eurasia Review
Embraer’s story is one that India’s own Hindustan Aeronauticals Ltd (HAL) should emulate.
Embraer was created in 1969 by the Brazilian government, just a few years after HAL was established. HAL had a head start over Embraer: it began as privately-owned Hindustan Aircraft in 1940 and made its first aircraft (PC 5 A) as early as 1941. But HAL then fell behind from lack of ambition and vision.
Embraer in comparison, was nurtured by its government, and is now the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world. At $6.2 billion its revenues are over twice that of HAL’s. Its biggest customers are the airline companies of the U.S. and Europe. It has sold executive jets to the Indian government and private individuals, and has a $2.9 billion order for 50 aircrafts from the new Indian regional carrier Air Costa, whose fleet of four is entirely Embraer aircraft. The company also makes military aircraft, planes for agricultural spraying and is a global pioneer in the use of ethanol as aircraft fuel. In addition to a Sao Paulo listing, Embraer shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Embraer is now a role model for companies from the developing world seeking to debunk the fiction that high-tech products originate only from the developed world.
23/02/15 R. Viswanathan/Eurasia Review
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