LAS VEGAS, Oct. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With a total
order intake worth $930M (€838M), the
Extraordinary Commissioner of Piaggio Aerospace,
Vincenzo Nicastro has
announced today at the NBAA-BACE in Las
Vegas that he is now ready to launch a public tender for the
sale of the Company. A formal clearance from the Italian Government
to publish the tender notice is due to arrive shortly.
In the last 9 months, the Italian aircraft manufacturer, which
went under Extraordinary Receivership in December last year, has
signed fixed orders for a total value close to $300M (€270M), mainly in the Engine and Customer
Support business units. New contracts – for a total of $630M (€568M) - will arrive by the end of year
2019.
"Piaggio has never had an order intake of such an amount during
its recent history," said Nicastro
during a meeting with journalists at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "With the signing
of more contracts in the upcoming weeks, we shall be closer to
bringing back the company to full operation. I can now state that
we have reached our goal of making Piaggio Aerospace strong enough
to seek a new owner: both the aerospace industry and our existing
clients can be reassured that Piaggio Aerospace will be in the
market for the long haul."
New order for the Avanti EVO announced today
Nicastro has also announced the signing of an agreement with
Sheikh Khalifa Al Saif,
Chairman of Al Saif Aviation, for the purchase of at least
10 Avanti EVO, the first of which is scheduled to be delivered in
the second half of 2020. According to the partnership, Al Saif
Aviation will also act as an agent and distributor in Middle East, North
Africa and some key territories in Europe, with the goal of promoting and
marketing the Avanti EVO in the EMEA region. Al Saif Aviation,
which bought its first Avanti EVO in 2016, is part of Al Saif
Trading Est., a group based in Saudi
Arabia. The company also operates offices in Dubai and London and is specialized in aircraft trading
and consultancy.
"I confirm my commitment to the Avanti EVO, since it
represents the best executive aircraft in the market, with its jet
performance at turboprop costs and the widest cabin in its
category. I have always appreciated, as a business traveler, the
Avanti EVO, with its modern aerodynamic shape and its unique three
lifting surfaces concept,"
Khalifa Al Saif commented.
"Now that we see that Piaggio Aerospace is back on track, we are
happy to strengthen our partnership and to commit ourselves to a
long-term investment. We are extremely confident on a very
successful future partnership."
"Al Saif has been Piaggio
Aerospace's valuable customer and partner for a long time, and we
are extremely grateful to him for the renewed trust in the
company," Andrea Di Fede, Piaggio Aerospace Head of
Sales said. "We are sure that with such an agreement, Piaggio
Aerospace will be able to give a new boost to the sales of the
Avanti EVO."
More agency agreements
With the objective of strengthening the commercial network, two
more agents have been appointed. After the delivery of an Avanti
EVO in Uganda last May, the
Italian manufacturer has just signed an agreement with Acass
Canada Ltd - a group of companies active in business aviation
services headquartered in Montreal
(Canada) – that will now act as
non-exclusive agent for Piaggio Aerospace in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Indonesia. A similar agreement has been
signed with Infraestucturas Aeroportuarias SL, a company
based in Madrid, active in
aerospace and defense consultancy, which will represent Piaggio
Aerospace in Spain,
Morocco and Poland.
Future Government orders intake
Meanwhile, the previously secured contracts with the Italian
Government entities are close to being signed. As recently
confirmed by Italian Government representatives, by the end of the
year new orders will be finalized with the Italian Armed
Forces for the acquisition of 9 new Avanti EVO, the
retrofitting of 19 Avanti and Avanti II and the relevant Integrated
Logistic Support, for a total value of $290M (€262M). In the meantime, the Engine
Business Unit is closing new contracts worth approximately
$139M (€125M). Finally, in the
upcoming weeks the Italian Parliament will ratify an already
allocated $178M (€160M) investment
for the Unmanned Aerial System P.1HH: part of the investment
will be needed to finalize the development process and part will be
for the sale to the Italian Air Force of one system (two aircraft
and one control ground station).
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SOURCE Piaggio Aerospace