SONACA
SONACA (Société Nationale de Construction Aérospatiale SA) is a Belgian aerospace company. The company began as Avions Fairey, a subsidiary of British manufacturer Fairey Aviation. When financial difficulties forced Fairey into receivership in 1977, Avions Fairey was taken into public ownership by the Belgian Government. This was done partly to calm social unrest but also to secure the licensed production of F-16 fighter aircraft. SONACA is still largely owned by the Wallonia Regional Investment Company (SRIW)via Fiwapac S.A.[citation needed]
History
From 1979 to 1991 SONACA produced 220 F-16, for both the Belgian and Danish Air Forces, under license from US company General Dynamics. In 1979 SONACA joined Belairbus for manufacturing parts for Airbus.
In 1990, in spite of difficulties[citation needed], SONACA became the partner of the Brazilian Embraer Regional Jet program.
Brazil
In 2000 SONACA opened a subsidiary near EMBRAER called SOBRAER in Brazil's São José dos Campos, mainly engaged in the manufacture of fuselage parts.
Since 2004, SONACA also has two companies in São José dos Campos engaged in supplying small aircraft parts, called PESOLA and SOPEÇAERO.
North America
Since 2003 SONACA also has plants in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, and Wichita, Kansas, where mainly U.S. wing panels allows for various aircraft manufacturers, including Bombardier and IAI.
Present
From 2005 SONACA was again struggling with financial problems. This time it tried to compensate with layoffs and the relocation of labor-intensive production to Brazil.
Today[when?], the Belgian branch of SONACA mainly engages in the manufacture of wing components for Airbus, Dassault, EMBREAR, Grob, and the Eagle B-Hunter UAV.