Saab presents the installations of the new aerostructure factory for the Gripen fighter: Saab Aeronáutica Montagens (SAM), located in an area of approximately 5 m² in the city of São Bernardo do Campo, greater São Paulo. This is another important step of the Gripen Program in Brazil.
“We are transferring knowledge and production capacity for complex aerostructures to Brazil, fulfilling our offset agreement. The factory is already structuring itself to be part of Saab's global supply chain for the civil aviation and defense markets,” explains Mikael Franzén, head of the Gripen Brasil business unit, from Saab's Aeronautics business area.
SAM will be responsible for producing six segments for the Gripen fighters acquired by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) such as the tail cone, the aerodynamic brakes, the wing casket, the rear fuselage and the front fuselage for the single-seat version (one seat) and the biposto version (two seats).
Discover how the factory that will produce fuselages for Gripen fighters will be here in Brazil, located in São Bernardo do Campo/SP. What did you think? #saab #gripen #Technology transfer #Technology transfer #sam pic.twitter.com/fYLMZk0Y1T
ADVERTISING — Saab do Brasil (@saabdobrasil) 9 May 2018
“The beginning of the structural assembly of the factory was given. We are already implementing the office, hiring people and suppliers. By 2020, the entire manufacturing structure will be in place to start manufacturing operations for Gripen components,” explains Marcelo Lima, general director of SAM.
The municipality of São Bernardo do Campo is strategically well located, from a logistical point of view, close to the Port of Santos, the International Airport of Guarulhos, important highways and the aeronautical clusters of São José dos Campos and Gavião Peixoto, the city that hosts the Gripen Design and Development Network (GDDN), where the final assembly of the aircraft will take place.
“Our decision to establish the factory in São Bernardo is based on business aspects that take into our needs and what the city can offer to the Gripen project” adds Marcelo Lima. Additionally, the region is known for the quality of its manufacturing workforce due to the established automotive industry.
SAM will start operations in 2020 with 55 employees, including engineers and technicians, who will be trained in Linköping, Sweden, for up to 24 months in order to receive all the necessary training for the process of industrialization, qualification and assembly of complex fuselages , specific for the production of a supersonic fighter in Brazil.
“The new jobs generated at the plant will be highly qualified to perform processes on complex fuselage structures, both metallic and composite, boosting our technology transfer program. At the end of this project, we will have added more than 84 hours of training just for SAM employees” adds Marcelo Lima.
By 2024, SAM will have around 200 highly qualified employees, producing the aerostructures that will be supplied for the final assembly of the fighters.
Partnership with Akaer
The factory's financial structure will be composed of a majority partner, Saab AB (90%) and a minority partner, Akaer (10%), an engineering company specialized in the development of aerostructures, already a partner of Saab in the development of fighter jets since 2009 , when it was hired to develop the Gripen fuselage segment design.
At the same time that Akaer acquires 10% of SAM, Saab increases its stake in Akaer from 25% to 28%, in a share exchange operation.
In the first investment, in 2012, Saab acquired 15% of the company. In 2017, another 10%. Now it increases participation by another 3%.
“The partnership with Akaer started even before Saab was selected by the FAB. Since 2009 Akaer has worked over half a million hours for the Gripen Programme. The work started with the development of structural parts and engineering, now it is also working in the manufacturing area”, said Mikael Franzén.
“Akaer's performance at SAM strengthens this solid long-term partnership with Saab and is in line with our strategy of growth and business diversification”, said Cesar Augusto Texeira Andrade e Silva, president and CEO of Akaer.
In these 32 months of the Gripen Program in Brazil, Saab, together with its industrial partners and the FAB, contributes to the development of the Defense Industry in Brazil and helps to generate new opportunities for qualified jobs, including for the region of São Bernardo do Campo , which also gains additional benefits and revenue for the city.
Facts about the technology transfer program
On October 27, 2014, Saab announced the conclusion of the contract with the Brazilian federal government for the development and production of 36 Gripen fighters. The contract entered into force in September 2015 when all requested conditions were fulfilled. Deliveries to the Brazilian Air Force will take place between 2019 and 2024.
The Gripen Design and Development Center (GDDN) was inaugurated in November 2016 in Gavião Peixoto, state of São Paulo. The GDDN is the Gripen technology development hub in Brazil for Saab and Embraer, together with partner companies and institutions.
The technology transfer program for Brazil includes four areas that will provide the Brazilian aerospace industry with the technology and knowledge needed to maintain and develop Gripen in Brazil:
• Theoretical training
• Research and Technology Programs
• On-the-job training in Sweden
• Development and production
Today, around 25 Brazilian engineers from partner companies are being trained at Saab's facilities in Sweden, and more than 140 professionals have already returned to Brazil. Most of them are working on aircraft development at GDDN.
By 2024, more than 350 Brazilian professionals, including engineers, operators, technicians and pilots from partner companies of Saab and the Brazilian Air Force, will participate in courses and on-the-job training in Sweden. Skills and knowledge will be acquired by Brazilian industry, enabling extensive Gripen development and production work, including final aircraft assembly in Brazil. The technology transfer program comprises more than 50 key projects, lasting up to 24 months.
Via – Saab
