SOROCABA FACILITY REBRANDED AS GULFSTREAM BRAZIL

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announces that its maintenance operations facility in Sorocaba, Brazil, has been rebranded as Gulfstream Brazil, joining Gulfstream Luton near London as the company’s two international service centers. A third center, Gulfstream Beijing, is scheduled to begin operation later this year.

“Customers in Latin America will now have easier access to the expertise they have come to expect from Gulfstream,” says Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Product Support. “The Sorocaba facility has grown into a full-fledged service center capable of heavy maintenance work, such as airframe inspections and engine changes.”

Gulfstream Brazil, located 60 miles (97 kilometers) from São Paulo, the world’s seventh-largest city by population, is certified by Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) to perform maintenance, repairs and alterations on all Gulfstream aircraft registered in-country. On-site Gulfstream aircraft with U.S. registration can be worked on by Federal Aviation Administration-certified technicians brought in from Gulfstream’s various U.S. service centers.

Gulfstream Brazil consists of a 24,000-square-foot hangar, which can accommodate a mix of four to six large- and mid-cabin aircraft, nearly 8,000 square feet of company and customer offices, and a 3,000-square-foot bonded parts warehouse. It is overseen by 25-year Gulfstream veteran Darrell Frey.

Brazil continues to be one of the strongest markets for business jets, particularly those manufactured by Gulfstream. Since 2009, the Gulfstream fleet in Brazil has grown from 14 aircraft to 34. The Gulfstream fleet in Latin America has grown from 58 in 2006 to nearly 150.

To support this growth, Gulfstream established a spare parts and materials inventory at consignment partner Morro Vermelho Taxi Aereo LTDA at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo in 2008. That inventory has grown to approximately $9 million. Gulfstream has also put more than $1 million in parts and materials at its bonded warehouse at Gulfstream Brazil.

Along with Gulfstream Brazil, other resources available to Gulfstream operators in Latin America include four field service representatives and company-authorized warranty facilities Aerocentro de Servicios, CA, in Caracas, Venezuela, and Aerovics, S.A., in Toluca, Mexico.