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“For
30 years, Little Rock has given each Falcon its individual personality
with care, precision and passion,” said John Rosanvallon,
President and CEO of Dassault Falcon. “Dassault Falcon has
a worldwide reputation for building the finest business jets in
the world. And the Little Rock facility is known worldwide for
quality craftsmanship and an unsurpassed reputation in our industry.
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Bob
Smith (Dassault Falcon Vice President of Industrial Opperations),
Paul H. Harvel (Little Rock Chamber President & CEO), Christian
(Dassault Falcon Senior Vice President and General Manager) |
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In
1975, Dassault purchased Little Rock Airmotive, a 61,500 square
foot hangar and office facility, with plans to integrate it into
the company’s global expansion. Originally, the facility
would complete Falcons for the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific
Rim. The airplanes would be built in France and flown to Little
Rock in green condition, where they would then be outfitted with
full interiors, options and an exterior customized to each customer’s
needs.
Making Little Rock attractive was a base of highly skilled artisans
in cabinetry, carpentry, leather goods, upholstery and a range
of other crafts. Since then, the facility has continuously expanded
and is now the main completion center for all Falcon aircraft
and the largest Dassault facility in the world. |
Over the past 30 years, nearly 900 Falcons have been completed in
Little Rock.Additionally, Dassault Falcon is the largest manufacturing
employer in the region. In 2004, Dassault made 53 customer deliveries
from Little Rock, and that number is expected to grow rapidly in
the coming years as customers begin taking delivery of the new Falcon7X.
The Falcon 7X, Dassault Falcon’s next generation of business
flight, recently made its public debut at the 46th Annual Paris
Air Show. When production begins, all completion on the three-engine,
5700nm range jet will take place at Dassault Falcon – Little
Rock. |
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Little Rock Regional
Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Paul Harvel attended the
show as the guest of Christian Sasso, General Manager of Dassault’s
Little Rock Completion Center. According to Harvel, the buzz
in Paris was over two planes – the European Airbus A380
and Dassault Falcon’s 7X. “It was a thrill to see
the impact of a future Little Rock product on the European community,”
said Harvel. “Dassault Falcon already has 55 firm orders
for the 7X, and Little Rock craftsmen and engineers will finish
every one of them.”
“Now that the 7X is in the flight test program, we’re
in the final stages of preparing for its completion process
which includes another round of expansion in Little Rock,”
said Little Rock General Manager Christian Sasso, “We’re
looking forward to a busy and prosperous future.”
Less than a year ago, a new state-of-the-art paint facility
was opened, and another round of expansion is now underway.
This includes plans for a cabinet shop expansion and a new ramp
staging area. Groundbreaking for a new Service Center and warehouse
will take place in the near future.
Additional hangar and support expansion are also being pursued,
and the original plan has been modified to include reallocation
of the existing facility areas plus expansion to facilitate
improved efficiency of the two Little Rock business units –
Production and Service Center.
Dassault could invest over $13 million in capital asset additions
and improvements to the Little Rock facility in 2005. Once complete,
the physical footprint of the Little Rock facility will be over
685,000 square feet, over 10 times the size of the original
facility that Dassault purchased from Little Rock Airmotive.
This current expansion could add between 100 and 200 jobs over
the next two years with hiring starting as early as the fourth
quarter of 2005.
www.falconjet.com
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