Embraer to Assemble Bulk of Legacy 450/500s in Florida

Embraer Executive Jets plans to eventually assemble the bulk of Legacy 450s and 500s at its Melbourne, Florida facility, though there is no timetable set yet for this transition, company president and CEO Michael Amalfitano recently said. The company announced in 2015 that it would assemble all Phenoms at the Florida plant.

For now, the bulk of the midsize Legacys will be assembled at Embraer’s São José dos Campos, Brazil headquarters, as the Melbourne facility continues to ramp up production. The company expanded its Melbourne final assembly center last year to make room for Legacy 450/500 production, but the ramp-up has intentionally been slow and methodical, said Embraer Executive Jets managing director and COO Phil Krull.

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Since the Melbourne facility expansion was completed last May, two Legacy 450s have come off of the line, and two Legacy 500s are currently being assembled. The second of those 450s is due to be delivered next month, with the first Florida-assembled Legacy 500 set to be delivered later this year.

The facility will be able to assemble up to 96 Phenoms and 72 Legacys annually. To date, Embraer has delivered 15 Legacy 450s and 45 Legacy 500s.