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Embraer conducts final assembly of its passenger jets in a large hangar in Sao Jose dos Campos. As many as six jets can be accommodated in one hangar. (Photo courtesy of Embraer)
Business Spotlight

Can Brazil's aerospace champion Embraer conquer Asia?

Regional jet maker eyes India, Vietnam and beyond. Competitors have other ideas

MITSURU OBE, Nikkei Asia chief business news correspondent | Latin America

SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, Brazil -- In the sprawling assembly plant of Brazilian jet maker Embraer, a little Japanese sign is pinned on a whiteboard. "Kaizen," it says, a Japanese word for continuous improvement.

"We do hundreds of kaizen projects every year to increase productivity in our production sites," said a factory manager, looking out to where a 146-seater E195-E2 is awaiting its wings, engines and a paint job. "Last year, we were able to achieve a 17% reduction [in production lead time] despite all the difficulty we had in the supply chain," he said. The company aims to achieve a 40% reduction by the end of 2023.

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