The world’s third-largest commercial airplane manufacturer is expanding its footprint in far north Fort Worth. Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer broke ground Monday on its second maintenance hangar in AllianceTexas.
The company opened its facility in an existing hangar at Perot Field in June, but the new one will expand the Embraer’s maintenance, repair and overhaul capacity by 53%, president and CEO Francisco Gomes Neto told a crowd of about 100 people at a ceremony celebrating the groundbreaking.
The hangar is expected to open in early 2027. The company is investing $70 million to build the hangar, which it says will create 250 new jobs.
“We’re not just building infrastructure. We’re building futures,” Neto said. He thanked the city of Fort Worth for its partnership to bring the hangar to fruition.
The company signed an economic development agreement with the city in October 2024 whereby the city would forgive 50% of the company’s real estate and business property taxes for seven years provided Embraer meets conditions around investment, jobs, and salaries.
Those conditions include the creation of 250 jobs with an average salary of $67,000, along with investing a minimum of $57 million in the construction.
When AllianceTexas got started more than 35 years ago, the goal was to attract the best brands and companies from around the world, Hillwood chairman Ross Perot Jr. said at Monday’s event.
“To have Embraer on this program is very special for us because you are one of the great global brands,” Perot said.
He also noted the company’s role as one of the largest suppliers of domestic aircraft in the United States along with its partnerships developing airplanes for the military.
“Our goal here is to help you continue to grow,” Perot said while emphasizing Fort Worth and the state of Texas’ commitment to what he called economic freedom.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker called Monday’s groundbreaking an exciting milestone for the North Texas region. “The airport continues to serve as a hub of innovation and economic opportunity, and Embraer’s expansion further strengthens Fort Worth’s position as a global leader in aviation and advanced manufacturing,” Parker said in a press releases celebrating the event.
Embraer’s expansion is not only bringing high quality jobs, but highlights the strength of Fort Worth’s business environment and talent of the city’s local workforce, she said. Embraer has been amazed with the speed it took to get the first hangar up and running to serve clients, said Carlos Naufel, president and CEO of Embraer’s support division, speaking to reporters after the groundbreaking.
A day after opening its first Fort Worth hangar, the company signed an agreement with domestic carrier CommuteAir, which operates a fleet of 59 Embraer ERJ145s primarily for United Airlines.
“We’ve already delivered some aircraft to our customers. Our hangar is full, and we’ll probably see this in the future hangar,” Naufel said.
The new hangar will also focus on maintenance for Embraer’s commercial aviation fleet.
Embraer has about 18,000 employees and is a leading manufacturer of commercial airplanes with up to 150 seats. The company’s aircraft transport roughly 150 million passengers per year, and on average one of its aircraft takes off every 10 seconds, according to company statistics.
