Cessna gearing up for Chinese operations

Cessna and CAIGA joint ventures are making good progress towards beginning operations in China.

Cessna and CAIGA formed two joint ventures in China, the first at Shijiazhuang and second in Zhuhai in November 2012.

Cessna and CAIGA signed agreements to assemble Citation XLS+ business jets through CESSNA-AVIC Aircraft (Zhuhai) Co., Ltd and Cessna Caravan utility turboprops through CESSNA-AVIC Aircraft (Shijiazhuang) Co., Ltd. The aircraft from both operations are intended to be sold in the Chinese market.

William Shultz, seniot vice president, business development,China spoke at ABACE saying “Together with CAIGA, we are making swift progress toward establishing the joint venture operations. The construction of facilities is complete and we expect tooling and equipment to be in place in Shijiazhuang by June and in Zhuhai before the end of the year.”

Formation of the joint ventures and the beginning of operations remain subject to various government approvals.

In addition, Cessna and CAIGA have announced anumber of senior management appointments for both joint ventures.

Trey Wade, formerly with Bell Helicopter, has been appointed general manager for the Zhuhai operation. With 12 years experience at Bell Helicopter, Wade was most recently director of the Bell Helicopter Training Academy.

Li Yanbei, previously vice general manager of CAIGA South China Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd., has been named as the deputy general manager of the Zhuhai joint venture. 

David Howard has been promoted to general manager of the Shijiazhuang joint venture. Howard was previously responsible for overseeing operations of the Cessna Skycatcher 162 program in Shenyang, China.

Jing Weiliang, previously Manager of Human Resource with CAIGA North China Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd., has been appointed to be the deputy general manager of the Shijiazhuang joint venture. 

Schultz said: “We have worked hard to identify suitably skilled leaders for both joint ventures. The operations will benefit immensely from the experience and insights of both management teams.”

The joint ventures are expected to eventually develop customer support capabilities to meet any aftermarket that occurs in China. These services are intended to complement the activities of Cessna’s existing service network in the country: Beijing DINGSHI GA Tech Service Center (CFIC) was appointed a Citation authorised service facility in March 2012, and Cessna is working towards awarding the same status to Shanghai Hawker Pacific Business Aviation Service Centre.