Akaer enters into partnership with French Altran
Valor Econômico
Brazilian Akaer and French group Altran announced today a partnership for the creation of an aerostructure integration company that will compete worldwide in the sector of aerospace and defense (A&D). The official announcement will be made during the presentation of the financial results of the French company, in Paris. The companies signed a letter of intent last Friday. According to the agreement, Altran, that earns € 1.6 billion a year, should acquire interest in Akaer. The company to be created will have the two companies as partners, but the participation of each has not yet been defined. The International Vice President of the Altran group, Fréderic Grard, said the first action to seal the partnership has been defined: nearly 20 Brazilians engineers will go to Europe and ten Altran experts will come to Brazil to begin the process of transfer of technology in aerostructures.
"The Alliance with Akaer will strengthen our position in Brazil in the sectors of aerospace and defense, complementing the expertise and knowledge of both the companies, with initial focus on aerostructures," said the President of the Altran technologies, Anderson Novaes Mendes Alves. With 400 employees and earnings of US$ 50 million, the company operates in Brazil in the areas of innovation and technology for the car, telecommunications and energy sectors. Akaer has 120 employees and has earnings of US$ 13 million a year.
According to the Executive Officer of Akaer, César Augusto da Silva, one of the initiatives to be taken after the announcement will be the construction of a plant of aircraft integrated structures - the first one in Brazil with the capacity to cater to order of a company of the size of Embraer, which today depends exclusively on foreign suppliers. The plant will probably be erected in São José dos Campos (SP) and, in addition to the final assembly of structural subassemblies, it will feature the production of other aeronautical segments such as piping, wiring, and activities, such as the modernization and maintenance of aircrafts. Nearly US$ 50 million will be invested. In the short term, the companies also plan on investing US$ 5 million in training, training of manpower and industrial infrastructure.