A major aerospace operation in Mississauga is about to change ownership, with approximately 750 local workers set to become Bombardier employees.

Bombardier has reached an agreement to acquire the assets of MHI Canada Aerospace Inc., better known as MHICA, from its parent company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).

The deal is expected to close later this year, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

For Mississauga, the agreement means a long-established aerospace operation near Pearson Airport will become part of Bombardier’s existing manufacturing operation in the city.

And for the approximately 750 people who work at MHICA, Bombardier says the transition is intended to be business as usual.

The names can be confusing.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a major Japanese industrial company with businesses ranging from energy and infrastructure to aerospace and defence.

MHI Canada Aerospace is its Canadian aerospace operation. The company was incorporated in Ontario in 2006 and has operated in Mississauga for nearly two decades.

MHICA’s main facility is at 6390 Northwest Drive in the Malton area, where it operates a large manufacturing plant and logistics centre. The company currently lists 725 employees at the location.

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MHICA is not building complete airplanes.

Instead, its highly skilled workforce manufactures and assembles major aircraft structures, including wing assemblies and fuselage sections, and performs systems and flight-control installation and testing. Its work has supported Bombardier’s Global and Challenger business aircraft programs.

Reuters reports the Mississauga facility plays a key role in manufacturing wings for Bombardier’s Global 5500 and Global 6500 private jets.

In other words, the company Bombardier is buying is already an important part of the process of building Bombardier aircraft.

Bombardier says the acquisition will bring those manufacturing capabilities in-house and strengthen its control over an important part of its aircraft supply chain.

The company says it will gain MHICA’s aerostructure manufacturing expertise along with its experienced workforce, giving Bombardier greater manufacturing flexibility and resilience as demand for its aircraft grows.

“This agreement represents a key step in Bombardier’s long-term growth strategy,” said David Murray, Bombardier’s executive vice-president of manufacturing and supply chain execution.

He said the deal will deepen Bombardier’s manufacturing expertise and allow the company to continue developing the local workforce in areas including component manufacturing and whole-aircraft assembly.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Bombardier already has a major presence in the city, including its Global Aircraft Assembly Centre near Toronto Pearson Airport.

The acquisition will effectively expand Bombardier’s manufacturing footprint in Mississauga by bringing a major supplier operation and its hundreds of skilled employees directly into the company.

MHICA’s roots in the city go back to 2007, when it acquired a 90,000-square-foot facility to work on Bombardier’s Global business jet program.

As its operations expanded, the company moved into a purpose-built 270,000-square-foot facility in Malton in 2012. It later added another facility to support its logistics and manufacturing operations.

MHI says it will work with Bombardier to make the transition as smooth as possible and provide support for an interim period after the transaction closes.

The goal, both companies say, is to avoid disruption to aircraft programs and maintain continuity for employees and operations in Mississauga.

For MHI, the sale does not mean the company is leaving Canada. It says it will continue to have a significant Canadian presence through its other business activities. For Bombardier, meanwhile, the deal means more of the aircraft-building process will be controlled directly by the company.

 


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