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November 24, 2008
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The engineering office and final assembly of the Citation Columbus will be housed in this new building as Cessna continues moves forward with its newest business jet. |
Long range also describes Textron’s investment in this project. The company is investing $780 million for this new aircraft, with deliveries to customers expected in 2014. Construction recently began on the 600,000 square-foot facility in Wichita, Kansas that will house the final assembly of the new aircraft and the engineering offices.
Such long-range planning is typical in aviation, with years of lead time necessary to complete the engineering, designing, testing and certification before the new aircraft can take flight. But in a difficult economic climate such as this one, some companies may halt plans to move forward with such large projects – its focus becomes more short-term.
But Cessna and Textron understand the value of investing in new products. After all, Cessna is a business that continued to innovate during the last economic downturn that rocked the aviation industry, and the business came out of if it with new customers who were eager for the new models of Cessna jets.
“The commitment is to continue to invest in our new product development,” says Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton. “Despite the uncertainty of the short-term economic environment, we believe it is critical that we not compromise our future.”
The Citation Columbus is fulfilling the need of customers, who were looking for a Cessna business jet with more cabin space and could make intercontinental flights. Its design is based on five years of customer research into what customers wanted in a business jet. Reliability, ease of maintenance and more space, more range, more economy and more capability topped the list.
Pelton noted that the Cessna continued to make significant investments during the last economic downturn – between 2000 and 2003 – when it developed its Cessna Citation Service Center as well as the Citation CJ3, XLS+, Sovereign and the Mustang. All total, these four models now account for 68 percent of Cessna’s production backlog. “When the economy turned, we were in a leadership position,” he says.
Scott Donnelly, Textron’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, says it is critical for products like the Citation Columbus to move forward because these are the products that represent the future of the business.
“Everyone understands and has great resolve around the fact that we have to make those investments so that we have those products in place for the up cycle,” Donnelly says. “We absolutely have to maintain our commitment to have leading products and services, and that means we’ve got to invest.”
The new building will house the final assembly for the Citation Columbus and engineering offices. Cessna and the design team are working toward compliance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system for the building.
The all-new aircraft’s large, comfortable cabin is configurable for up to 10 passengers and is expected to exceed the passenger seating room of its top competitor. The Columbus also is expected to lead its segment with its combination of speed and range.
Cessna’s engineering team and its co-development suppliers have designed the clean-sheet Columbus to be one of the most advanced, fuel-efficient, cleanest business jets ever conceived.
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