AERO Vodochody has signed a new contract for delivery of Airbus A321 fuselage panels to Italian aerospace producer, Alenia Aermacchi. The Italian customer will use four 4.3 meters long panels made by Aero to build a 14a fuselage section of A321. AERO Vodochody should produce up to 96 panel sets a year. The contract value is over 3 billion CZK.

AERO takes this new project as a big opportunity. A321 is the biggest aircraft of Airbus A320 family, the fastest selling airliners in history. A321 entered service in 1994 and can accommodate up to 220 passengers. The 14a fuselage section is 4.14 metres high and 3.95 metres wide and is located just in front of wings of the aircraft.

This contract is not the first cooperation of AERO and Alenia Company. Since 2007, Aero produces centre wing box for Alenia C-27J Spartan. Following this successful cooperation, Alenia Aermacchi offered to AERO to take part in its A321 program. Production of fuselage panels should start before the end of 2013 and there is no time limit of the contract. That means that Aero should participate on all current and all future versions of A321 up to the end of production of this aircraft.

The new program will require some investments in new technologies. AERO becomes the first Czech company using fully automatic riveting of aerospace structures. AERO will also offer about 150 new jobs for engineers and workers.

Alenia Aermacchi is part of Finmeccanica group. Its production includes C-27J Spartan transport aircraft, used by national air forces of Italy, United States, Lithuania, Greece, Mexico and other countries. The Army of Czech Republic also considered buying this aircraft. Except of its own projects, the company participates also on many international projects of the biggest aircraft producers like Boeing, Airbus or Sukhoi. Alenia Aermacchi is the only producer of A321 14a fuselage section and AERO is one of her two suppliers of fuselage panels.