Hawker Beechcraft
Encyclopedia
Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) is an aerospace manufacturing company that builds the Beechcraft
Beechcraft
Beechcraft is an American manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. Previously a division of Raytheon, it has been a brand of Hawker Beechcraft since 2006....

 and Hawker business jet lines of aircraft.

The company headquarters is in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, with maintenance and manufacturing locations worldwide.

History

On February 8, 1980, Beech Aircraft Corporation
Beechcraft
Beechcraft is an American manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. Previously a division of Raytheon, it has been a brand of Hawker Beechcraft since 2006....

 became a subsidiary of Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...

. In August 1993, Raytheon Company acquired British Aerospace Corporate Jets (producers of the midsized British Aerospace BAe 125
British Aerospace BAe 125
The British Aerospace 125 is a twin-engined mid-size corporate jet, with newer variants now marketed as the Hawker 800. It was known as the Hawker Siddeley HS.125 until 1977...

 line) from British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...

 and renamed the company Raytheon Corporate Jets. In mid-September 1994, Beech Aircraft Corporation and Raytheon Corporate Jets were merged to form Raytheon Aircraft. Raytheon decided to use the Hawker name to show the lineage of the series from Hawker Siddeley and Hawker Aircraft
Hawker Aircraft
Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history.-History:...

. The name is perpetuated today in the current company name.

In early 2002, Raytheon announced at the National Business Aviation Association
National Business Aviation Association
National Business Aviation Association or NBAA, is a non-profit and nonpartisan 5016 corporation based in Washington, DC, United States. The Association represents more than 8,000 companies....

 annual convention the return of the Hawker and Beechcraft brands after having marketed them all as Raytheon aircraft.

Ending months of industry speculation, Raytheon announced in July 2006 that it intended to sell its aircraft manufacturing business in an effort to focus on its core defense-related divisions. Bidders for the company included The Carlyle Group, Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States. The firm is based in New York City, and run by -year-old financier Steve Feinberg. Former U.S...

 and Onex Corporation.

On 3 October 2006, Raytheon Aircraft Company commenced a US$16.3-million, 112000 square feet (10,405.1 m²) facility expansion for Hawker 4000 completion work in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

. The expansion included a new 54000 square feet (5,016.8 m²) hangar bay, as well as extensions to existing buildings to provide additional woodshop, upholstery, sheet metal and storage space.

On 26 March 2007, Hawker Beechcraft finalized the purchase of Raytheon Aircraft Company from Raytheon for US$3.3B. Hawker Beechcraft Inc. is a new company formed by the Canadian investment firm Onex Partners and GS Capital Partners, an affiliate of global finance house Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...

. Today the company is known as Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC).

2007 marked the 75th anniversary of Beechcraft and the 60th anniversary of the Beechcraft Bonanza
Beechcraft Bonanza
The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by The Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. , it is still being produced by Hawker Beechcraft, and has been in continuous production longer than any other airplane in history...

, which is the longest running production line of all time.

In 2007 and 2008 the company increased its overseas expansion efforts. On October 25, 2007, HBC officially opened a new aerospace manufacturing facility in Chihuahua, Mexico
Chihuahua, Chihuahua
The city of Chihuahua is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It has a population of about 825,327. The predominant activity is industry, including domestic heavy, light industries, consumer goods production, and to a smaller extent maquiladoras.-History:It has been said that the...

 and on March 26, 2010 appointed Hawker Pacific Singapore as its first Hawker 4000 authorized service center in Southeast Asia.

In early 2010 the company, in partnership with Flight Safety International, opened a 44000 sq ft (4,087.7 m²). Maintenance Learning Center, for technician training.

The company in the late-2000s recession

In response to the late-2000s recession the company announced the lay-off of 490 employees at its Wichita facility in January 2009.

On February 3, 2009, CEO Jim Schuster announced that a further 2,300 employees would be laid off before the end of the year. The company indicated that orders for aircraft have slowed down, especially by fractional jet operators. Schuster said:
The company is carrying a very high debt burden just under USD$2.4 billion. The company pays $190 million per year in interest payments, or more than $500,000 a day.

After completing cuts of 25% of its workforce (2800 employees) between October 2008 and August 2009, the company indicated that further significant cuts were required. The company's second quarter 2009 results over 2008 data showed that aircraft deliveries had fallen from 129 to 78 aircraft. The company achieved orders of US$450M during the period April to June 2009, but had orders totaling US$366M were cancelled in the same period. Overall the company's sales were reduced from US$1.03B in the second quarter of 2008 to US$816.3M in the same period of 2009. One customer, NetJets
NetJets
NetJets, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, offers fractional ownership and rental of private business jets.-History:NetJets Inc., formerly Executive Jet Aviation, was founded in 1964 as one of the first private business jet charter and aircraft management companies...

, cancelled orders for 12 aircraft and deferred all other scheduled deliveries until the end of 2010.

In late August 2009 the company laid off an additional 300 workers, bringing the total number let go to 3100 employees.

On 31 August 2009 the company indicated that it was slowing development of the Beechcraft Premier II, moving its first delivery date into late 2012 or early 2013 due to the poor market for business aircraft. Company Chairman and CEO Bill Boisture stated: "While we remain fully committed to certifying and fielding the class-leading Premier II as designed, we must be prudent in our evaluation of the current and forecasted global economic environment. Based on these conditions, we have made the decision to extend the entry-into-service date to better align with anticipated rebound of the business jet market."

In late September 2009 the company issued 60-day lay-off notices for another 240 employees. These cuts included 87 positions on the Horizon production line and the rest in the King Air
Beechcraft King Air
The Beechcraft King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation...

 line. This set of lay-offs brought the total lay-offs to 3,553 since October 2008, which was about 36 percent of the company workforce.

The company reported that it lost more than US$63M in the first quarter of 2010, even after it cut 2,700 jobs in 2009. In July 2010 the union representing workers at Hawker Beechcraft sent a letter to its members explaining that it is in negotiations at the company's request to deal with, as the company stated "serious challenges... a spectrum of possibilities for the company's future footprint...the likely impact on its workforce in all its locations." The union warned its members in the letter, "The picture we are getting is of a Hawker Beechcraft Wichita that will shrink almost immediately by 75 percent or more within two years, without a guarantee of even the last few jobs staying". The move would reduce the company's work force from 6000 to 1500 workers. CEO Bill Boisture confirmed the situation indicating that demand for the company's products has declined drastically and permanently and that the company may move significant amounts of work to Mississippi, Louisiana, or outside the United States.

In September 2010 the company announced further cuts of 350 salaried positions to be completed be the end of October 2010. Company CEO Bill Boisture explained: "While there are pockets of growth in the global economy, the market for new production aircraft has stagnated at a very low level. Readily available, high quality, used aircraft and the lack of financing have combined to depress the prices on private and business aircraft."

On 16 October 2010, union machinists at Hawker Beechcraft voted against a new seven-year contract that would have included a 10% pay cut and higher worker health insurance contributions aimed at keeping the company from moving its operations out of Kansas. Union leadership had recommended that its rank and file accept the company's offer rather than risk losing their jobs, but a majority of the union workers voted against the contract, citing their belief that the company will leave Kansas regardless of incentives and concessions.

In December 2010 the company signed an agreement with the Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 state government to retain facilities in Wichita until at least 2020 and a minimum of 4000 employees in exchange for a US$40M incentive package. Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson termed it, "not a huge bailout".

Facilities

  • Chester
    Chester
    Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

    , United Kingdom
    United Kingdom
    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

  • Little Rock, Arkansas
    Little Rock, Arkansas
    Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

    , United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

  • Salina, Kansas
    Salina, Kansas
    Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,707. Located in one of the world's largest wheat-producing areas, Salina is a regional trade center for north-central Kansas...

    , United States
  • Wichita, Kansas
    Wichita, Kansas
    Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

    , United States (headquarters)
  • Chihuahua, Mexico
    Chihuahua, Mexico
    Chihuahua, Mexico, may refer to:* The State of Chihuahua in Mexico* The City of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, its capital...


Civil

  • Beechcraft Baron
    Beechcraft Baron
    |-See also:- Further reading :*Harding, Stephen. U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947. Shrewsbury, UK:Airlife Publishing, 1990. ISBN 1-85310-102-8.*Michell, Simon. Jane's Civil and Military Aircraft Upgrades 1994-95. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Information Group, 1994. ISBN 0-7106-1208-7.*Taylor, John W. R....

  • Beechcraft Bonanza
    Beechcraft Bonanza
    The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by The Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. , it is still being produced by Hawker Beechcraft, and has been in continuous production longer than any other airplane in history...

  • Beechcraft King Air
    Beechcraft King Air
    The Beechcraft King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation...

  • Beechcraft Premier I
  • Beechcraft Super King Air
    Beechcraft Super King Air
    The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...

  • Beechcraft 1900
    Beechcraft 1900
    The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop airplane manufactured by the Beechcraft Division of the Raytheon Company . It was designed, and is primarily used, as a regional airliner...

  • Hawker 200
    Hawker 200
    |-See also:-External links:* * *...

  • Hawker 400XP
  • Hawker 750
  • Hawker 850XP
  • Hawker 900XP
  • Hawker 1000
    British Aerospace BAe 125
    The British Aerospace 125 is a twin-engined mid-size corporate jet, with newer variants now marketed as the Hawker 800. It was known as the Hawker Siddeley HS.125 until 1977...

  • Hawker 4000

External links

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