NASHVILLE, Tennessee—Strong demand for two-class regional jets has Embraer’s two U.S. heavy maintenance facilities all but sold out through 2024 and eyeing expansion at its Nashville, Tennessee, overhaul base.
“We know our customers in North America really like our facility in Nashville,” Global VP of MRO Frank Stevens told Aviation Week’s Inside MRO. “We are looking at expanding there because we’re at nine lines, and we’re sold out through 2024.”
The appeal of Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services’ Nashville facility stems from multiple factors, Stevens explained during a recent media event at the shop. The airport is a natural termination point for several customers that serve the city. It also has a variety of back-shops and a 50,000 ft.² component shop just down the road in LaVergne that handles large composite structures, flight controls, and a variety of other parts.
Nashville has nine bays—all dedicated to heavy-check work. One bay had been reserved for drop-in work or unscheduled events such as the recent aircraft in for skin repair following a collision with a ground-service vehicle. But demand for heavy work, including leased aircraft transitioning to new operators, convinced Embraer to use every available bay. Its current output is about 170 heavy checks per year.
Embraer’s other U.S. heavy-check shop, in Macon, Georgia, has six lines and is nearly as busy.
“We can probably put one or two more airplanes in there, and then we’re full through 2024,” Stevens said.
After several tumultuous years that included a near tie-up with Boeing, delays in its E175-E2 program, and of course the pandemic, Embraer is seeking more solid ground. A five-year plan focuses on growing core products and capabilities while betting heavily on urban air mobility (UAM) with its Eve affiliate.
Its services business, created in 2016, is part of the company’s core—and one of its bright spots.
Embraer’s services business—which caters to business aviation and military customers as well as airlines—grew 12% in 2022 to about $1.3 billion. The figure represents 28% of company revenues. Services did the work with only about 2,300 employees, or 13% of the company’s 18,000-strong workforce.
“And we are growing,” said Danielle Vardaro, Embraer’s VP of worldwide customer support and aftermarket sales.
Airframe maintenance demand is constrained by capacity. But component work and related services such as power-by-the-hour deals where operators share spare parts pools are contributing to services’ surge. Only about 10% of the work at LaVergne supports Embraer’s heavy check business—the rest is for external customers,
Demand for more heavy-check work is there, and Embraer plans to tap it. Embraer says it has captured about 70% of the North American market for legacy E170- and E190-series work. Another 15% is done by customers themselves. That leaves 15% that is currently contracted out to non-Embraer facilities.
“We know exactly what our target is,” EAMS Commercial Director Neal Reagor said.
“Even if we had three more hangars today, we’d probably be full,” Stevens added. “The market is driving us.”
In the meantime, Embraer is leaning heavily on being more efficient to help create capacity. Nashville is on the verge of going completely digital on the shop floor, from easily importing paper documents and PDFs provided by customers to having electric signoffs.
All non-routine work is already all digital; a trial in the coming weeks will validate the process for routine work, said Jason Grafton, Embraer MRO Commercial COO.
“We are doing proof of concept in April and hope to have whole rollout in July,” he said.
Embraer uses EmpowerMX’s FleetCycle software.
The digital processes have helped Embraer cut overall turn times and increase predictability. Nashville used to need about 25 days for a “basic 3” check on an E175—now the figure is 19-21 days, Stevens said. Six years ago, Nashville’s on-time rate for heavy checks was about 50%. Now, it’s above 90%, and has been at 95% or better for three straight months, he added.
“We’re going through doing turnaround times faster,” Stevens said. “We’re adding efficiency to the operation.”
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