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ICONAircrafttoIn-SourceCompositesFabricationatNewFacilityinBajaCaliforniaVacaville(7September2016)–ICONAircraftannouncedtheconstructionofanewfacilityinTijuana,Mexico,where it will produce composite airframe components for the A5. As part of a revised production planannouncedinMay,thecompanydecidedtoproduceitsowncompositecomponents,amanufacturingprocessthatwaspreviouslyoutsourcedtoseveralsuppliers.Thenewfacility,whichisduetostartoperationsinNovember,coversapproximately300,000squarefeetandwill fabricate composite components for theA5. The airframeparts it produceswill be delivered to ICON’sexistingfactoryinNorthernCalifornia,wheretherestoftheaircraftmanufacturingprocesswillcontinueasitdoestoday,includingpaint,systemsinstallation,finalassembly,testing,andaircraftdelivery.TheestablishmentofthenewfacilitywillnotaffectthejobsofanyofICON’scurrentVacaville-basedemployees.ICONwillcontrolallmanufacturingoperationsatbothfacilities,andcompositepartswillbemadebyICONemployeesusingICONtooling,processes,andqualitystandards.“ICON’snewcomposite facility inMexico is central to the improvedproductionstrategyweannounced thisMay,”saidICONCEOandFounderKirkHawkins.“Bybringingcompositefabricationin-house,wewillbeabletoensurethatcomponentsmeetICON’sstrictqualityandcoststandardswhilealsoallowingustomorerapidlyimplementchangesaswecontinuetoimproveourprocesses.Asaresult,wewillimprovetheefficiencyofthemanufacturingprocessandsupplychaintodeliverasuperiorproduct.”ICON’sVPofManufacturing,ThomasWieners,previouslyoversawthesetupandthenoperationofBombardierRecreationalProducts’(BRP)facilityinQuerétaro,Mexico,whichproducesSea-DoowatercraftaswellasRotaxenginesandtransmissionsforCan-Amoff-roadvehicles.PriortoBRP,WienersspentfiveyearsinvariousqualityandmanufacturingleadershiprolesatMercedes-Benz.

“Manufacturing inMexico isapowerfulcapabilityforaglobal industrialcompany,whichmanyothers intheaerospace,automotive,andpowersportssectorshaverecognizedforyears,”saidWieners.“TijuanaisidealforICON’sneedsbecauseitisarapidly-emergingindustrialcenterwiththeinfrastructureandskilledlaborforce,includingcompositesandaerospaceexpertise,toproducethevolumeandqualityofcompositesweneedtomeet the significant A5 demand. Tijuana’s proximity to San Diego also reduces the time and cost to shipcomponentstoICON’saircraftassemblyfacilityinCalifornia.”Once fully operational, the facility will employ more than 1,000 people. ICON joins the ranks of globalmanufacturingcompanieswithfacilitiesinMexico,includingGulfstream,GE,BRP,Polaris,Audi,Ford,andmanyothers.Inparallelwiththeconstructionofthenewcompositemanufacturingfacility,ICONhascontinuedtobuildA5satalowrate.The12thA5wasrecentlydeliveredtoacustomerandwillalsobeoperatedfortrainingatICONFlightCenters(IFCs).Thecompanyexpectstocompleteatotalofapproximately20A5sin2016,allofwhichwillbeoperatedatIFCs.ThefirstIFCopenedinVacaville,Californiathissummer.Approximately30deposit-holdershavecompletedtrainingtheresofar.TheEastCoastICONFlightCenter(IFC-East)willopenlaterthisyearinTampa,FloridaandthefirstA5arrivedlastweekatTampa’sPeterO’KnightAirport.AthirdIFCinTexasisslatedforearlynextyear.WhilepriorityisgiventoICONcustomersfortraining,ICONflighttraininganddemosareopentothegeneralpublicaswell.Formoreinformation,visiticonaircraft.com.ABOUTICONAIRCRAFT:ICONAircraftisaconsumeraircraftmanufacturerfoundedinresponsetothesportflyingcategorycreatedbytheFederalAviationAdministration(FAA).Giventheseenablingregulations,ICON’smissionistoreinventpersonalflyingbyprovidingconsumer-friendly,safe,technologicallyadvancedaircraftthatallowthefreedom,fun,andadventureofflyingtobeaccessibletothosewhohavedreamedofit.ICON’slong-termvisionistheultimatedemocratizationofpersonalflight.Thisisthebeginningofthatprocess.ICON’sfirstaircraftistheA5,anamphibioussportplanethatfusesoutstandingaeronauticalengineeringwithworld-classproductdesign.Ithaswonsomeoftheworld’smostprestigiousdesignawardsandhasinspiredaglobalfollowing.Thecompanyhasreceivedmorethan1800deposits,representing$400Minaircraftorders,anddeliveredthefirstproductionaircraftinJuly2015.ICONAircraft’sfacilitiesareinNorthernCalifornia,50milesnortheastofSanFrancisco.ABOUTFAALIGHTSPORTAIRCRAFT&SPORTPILOTCLASSIFICATIONS:In2004,theFederalAviationAdministration(FAA)createdanewclassificationofeasy-to-flyandaffordabletwo-personairplanescalledLightSportAircraft.TheseairplanesenableanewclassificationofSportPilotstoflyinlower-altitude,uncongestedairspace,duringthedaytime,andingoodweather.TheSportPilotLicensefocusesonthefundamentalsofflyingandrequiresaminimumof20hoursofin-flighttraining,undercuttingthetimeandcostofatraditionalPrivatePilotLicensebyabout50%.TheExperimentalAircraftAssociation(EAA)hasdescribedthesenewrulesas“thebiggestchangeinaviationin50years.”

PRESSCONTACT:BrianManningICONAircraft9134249709brian.manning@iconaircraft.com