AEROSPACE
Diversification and Specialization of the Aerospace Industry
These facilities, along with other high-profile aerospace projects, are the result of tireless efforts by many government officials to advance Puerto Rico’s economic development and promote the Island and its countless business incentives around the globe. As the current administration continues to work closely with other aerospace giants to replicate the success of Lufthansa Technik Puerto Rico, this relatively new industrial sector is slowly expanding and promises to generate thousands of jobs over the next decade.
Lufthansa Technik:
Economic Diversity in Puerto Rico Takes Flight
F
rom blueprint to reality. Lufthansa Technik’s first-ever maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) center in America is now fully functional and operating from Puerto Rico’s western municipality of Aguadilla. Among those in attendance at the grand opening of Lufthansa Technik Puerto Rico (LPR) were Dr. Johannes Bussman, chair of Lufthansa’s executive board, Dr. Peter Wittig, German Ambassador to the U.S., and Vinai Thummalapally, executive director of Select USA. These facilities, along with other high-profile aerospace projects, are the result of tireless efforts by many government officials to advance Puerto Rico’s economic development and promote the Island and its countless business incentives around the globe. As the current administration continues to work closely with other aerospace giants to replicate the success of LPR, this relatively new industrial sector is slowly expanding and promises to generate thousands of jobs over the next decade. During the opening ceremony of the MRO center, LPR CEO Elmar Lutter expressed his deep gratitude to the central government of Puerto Rico, as well as the entire municipality of Aguadilla and its mayor. He also offered a special recognition to Lufthansa’s first two clients in Puerto Rico, remarking: “without them we wouldn’t be here.” Then, while pointing at two airplanes parked in the back, Lutter added: “please take a look at this beautiful yellow bird brought here by Joe Resnik, vice president of
PUERTO RICO
operations at Spirit Airlines, and this gorgeous blue bird brought to us by Jeff Martin, executive vice president at JetBlue Airways.” LPR’s CEO also highlighted the participation of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and its vital contribution to the project. “Without the help of UPR, which created a world-class school in Aguadilla to train our employees, we would have never been able to establish this operation. Our collaboration with the University is an essential component that guarantees the success of our long-term plans.” For his part, the German ambassador pointed out that one of the “hardest challenges for German companies that open subsidiaries outside of Germany is finding well-trained and qualified personnel. All the more reason to commend the collaboration between Lufthansa and the University of Puerto Rico, as this partnership has fostered a vocational education system much like the one we have in Germany. What makes this system so great is that it combines education and real-life training in the same companies where young people later develop their careers.” Wittig, who met with the Governor of Puerto Rico before the event, added: “Lufthansa’s new facilities will serve as a point of reference for foreign investors and companies looking to establish their operations in Puerto Rico. This MRO center sends a clear message to the rest of the world about the amazing economic opportunities that lie in the Commonwealth.”
Left with the final remarks, Governor Alejandro García Padilla mentioned that after many decades of hosting the largest and most successful pharmaceuticals in the world (which continue to contribute a great deal to the Island’s manufacturing base), it was time for Puerto Rico’s economy to diversify. In light of a changing world and the rapid growth of the aerospace industry, García Padilla stated that his administration has made a concerted effort to foster this new industry in Puerto Rico. LPR, said the governor, “is proof of our strategy’s short-term success and our push to more closely connect with German manufacturing companies.” “The pharmaceutical industry found fertile ground in Puerto Rico. Our incredibly talented human capital set the stage for the development of one of the most impressive concentrations of pharmaceutical manufacturing in the world. Thirteen of the top 25 patented products sold around the world are made here, and 12 of the top 20 biopharmaceutical companies on the planet are part of this Island’s incredible industrial ecosystem. Nevertheless, our economy today must branch out and we must venture into new industrial sectors. This is why we have entered the aerospace industry, which promises a bright future and an amazing potential for economic growth,” said the governor. “While in the process of developing LPR we discovered terrific opportunities. For example, we learned that German companies obtain huge tax benefits by virtue of participating in our fiscal system, and this in turn opens new industrial possibilities for Puerto Rico and consolidates our relationship with German manufacturing.”
ECONOMIC IMPACT GLOBAL 26,000 employees 30 subsidiaries PUERTO RICO 200 jobs in 2015 400 jobs in 2017 $2,200 millon over the next 30 years
Before the inauguration of Lufthansa Technik’s maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) center in Puerto Rico, Governor Alejandro García Padilla (left) held a meeting with German Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Wittig (right). Lufthansa’s MRO center is the result of concerted efforts by the Island’s public and private sector to develop an aerospace industry and diversify Puerto Rico’s economic development.
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