March 24 (SeeNews) - Austria-based aircraft parts manufacturer FACC launched production at a 12.5 million euro ($14 million) plant in Croatia's Jakovlje amid rising demand for aircraft, it said on Thursday.
The company, which currently employs 150 at the new plant, expects to triple its staff and expand its capacity, it said in a statement on Thursday.
"Demand has skyrocketed again, particularly in the area of short and medium-haul aircraft. This is why we are currently planning the next stage of expansion with additional areas for component assembly and logistics," CEO Robert Machtlinger said in the statement.
The new plant, FACC Solutions Croatia has gradually started operations since December. The new production facility, which is located in the Zagreb county, manufactures lightweight components for the cabin interiors of commercial aircraft and business jets on an area of 128,000 square metres.
It is the company's biggest greenfield outside Austria so far.
The new plant is part of the recently announced growth strategy of FACC, with an investment package of more than 150 million euro in the coming years.
FACC announced in mid-2019 that the overall investment in the Croatian plant will reach 30 million euro, creating up to 600 qualified jobs. Originally, production was planned to start in 2021 but in 2020 FACC said it would re-evaluate its 33-million euro project as part of measures to deal with a fall in demand due to the coronavirus.
The FACC group is owned by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and manufactures components for aircraft wings, tail assemblies and fuselages as well as engines and cabin interiors for all major aircraft makers.
($=0.9106 euro)