Gulfstream Aerospace

Infobox Company
company_name = Gulfstream Aerospace
company_
company_type = Subsidiary
foundation = 1978
location= Savannah, Georgia
area_served = Worldwide
key_people =
products = Jet business aircraft
market c

revenue=
operating_income =
assets =
equity =
slogan =
parent = General Dynamics
homepage = [http://www.gulfstream.com/ gulfstream.com]

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is a producer of several models of jet aircraft. Gulfstream has been a unit of General Dynamics since 2001.

Gulfstream's main facility is located in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Other facilities are located throughout the United States, including Appleton, Brunswick, Dallas, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., Westfield, and West Palm Beach. Gulfstream currently operates two facilities outside the United States, one in Luton, England and the other in Mexicali, Mexico.

Among the Gulfstream facilities several are partnered with GDAS sites (General Dynamics Aviation Services). Gulfstream/GDAS has co-sites in Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Westfield, and West Palm Beach.

History

The Gulfstream brand first appeared in 1957, when Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co. completed the design for the turboprop-driven Gulfstream I, Grumman's first marketable business aircraft; up until this point Grumman was most widely known for its military aircraft production. The Gulfstream I had its maiden flight on August 14, 1958 from its manufacturing facilities in Bethpage, New York. The Gulfstream I was so successful that Grumman developed a jet-powered corporate aircraft, the Gulfstream II.

In 1967, Grumman separated civil and military divisions, and moved the Gulfstream corporate jet operation to Savannah. Located at the Savannah Airport, the new facility opened that year, housing production and flight testing for the Gulfstream II, with a 100-person workforce. By the end of 1968, employment grew to over 1,000. In 1969, the 200th and last Gulfstream I was delivered.

Production of the Gulfstream II increased throughout the 1970s until the 256th and final G-II was delivered in 1977. In 1978, Grumman sold the Gulfstream aircraft line and all operations in Savannah to American Jet Industries, headed by Allen Paulson. Paulson became CEO, and renamed the company Gulfstream America. Paulson pushed heavily for the development of the Gulfstream III, which had its first flight in 1979.

The Savannah facility grew to employ 2,500 people in 1982, when the company's name was changed to Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. On April 8, 1983, Gulfstream stock was offered publicly for the first time. The company debuted on the Fortune 500 list at No. 417 in 1985, and Chrysler acquired Gulfstream. In 1989, Allen Paulson teamed up with Forstmann Little & Co. to buy the company back for $825 million. [http://www.gulfstream.com/history/index.htm The History of Gulfstream: 1958 - 2008] , Gulfstream. Retrieved 6 September 2008.]

The company continued to significantly grow throughout the 1990s. In 1994 Gulfstream signed a five-year contract with NetJets. In 1995 Gulfstream rolled out the Gulfstream V. Then in 1996, a new $16 million service center was added to the Savannah facility. In 1997, Gulfstream began to produce the Gulfstream IV-SP alongside the Gulfstream V. In 1999, General Dynamics made a $5 billion bid for Gulfstream, and the acquisition was approved.

In February 2000 the 400th Gulfstream IV rolled of the assembly line, and in April the 100th Gulfstream V is completed. Also in April Gulfstream opens a new %5.5 million refurbishing facility.

In 2001 Gulfstream acquired Galaxy Aerospace and rebranded Galaxy's current aircraft. The mid-size Astra SPX becomes the G100 and the super mid-size Galaxy became the G200. Gulfstream purchases four U.S. maintenance facilities in Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, and West Palm Beach. These facilities along with currently owned Gulfstream facility in West Field, Mass. form General Dynamics Aviation Services.

In 2002 Gulfstream rebranded all its products using arabic numerals and replaces the Gulfstream V with the G550. The G-IV became the G300 and The G-IV-SP becomes the G400.

In 2003 the Gulfstream 450 was introduced and is a replacement for the G400. Gulfstream acquired a service center at the London-Luton Airport it is the first Gulfstream facility to be operated outside the United States. Responding to the economic downturn following September 11, 2001 attacks Gulfstream laid off 1,000 employees and closed the manufacturing facility in Savannah from June 30 to July 27, 2003. [http://savannahnow.com/node/558096 The Savannah Morning News - Fifty Years of doing business above the clouds] , Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 24 August 2008.]

Recent history

In 2004 Gulfstream was awarded the Collier Trophy for the development of the G550. The G550 is the first civil aircraft to include a Enhanced Vision System (FLIR) as standard equipment. In March the G350, a short range version of the G450, is introduced.

In 2005 Gulfstream became the first business-jet manufacturer to offer an in-flight, ultra-high-speed internet connection, dubbed BBML (Broad Band Multi-Link). In partnership with Lockheed-martin and NASA Gulfstream developed and patented the Quiet Spike (a telescopic nose device that reduces the sonic boom cause by an aircraft breaking the sound barrier).

In 2006 the 22-year production run of the G100 (formerly the Astra SPX) ends and the G150 entered service to take its place. Gulfstream announced an expansion of its Savannah plant. The seven year $400 million Long Range Facilities Master Plan is to add a new Sales and Design center, a 625,000 square-foot service center and the creation of more than 1,100 new jobs. [http://savannahnow.com/node/558096 The Savannah Morning News - Fifty Years of doing business above the clouds] , Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 24 August 2008.]

Gulfstream is Savannah's largest manufacturer and contributes in a variety of ways to community affairs, especially education. The company supports and partners with the Georgia Institute of Technology's branch campus in Savannah, Savannah Technical College, and the Savannah College of Art and Design.

The company has produced more than 1,500 aircraft for corporate, government, private, and military customers around the world. More than one-quarter of Fortune 500 companies operate Gulfstream aircraft.

Mergers and acquisitions

The success of the Gulfstream I program lead to development of the bizjet Grumman Gulfstream II. In 1978, Grumman sold Gulfstream to Allen E. Paulson's American Jet Industries, renaming the company Grumman American. The purchase of Rockwell's Aero Commander program completed the formation of the new Gulfstream Aerospace.

In 1985, Chrysler acquired Gulfstream with Paulson remaining in charge but a few years later Paulson teamed up with Ted Forstmann and his associates to buy the company back. Then in 1999, General Dynamics acquired Gulfstream from Forstmann Little and, in 2001, acquired Galaxy Aerospace from Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI). Their production lines, located in Israel, are used to co-produce the G150 and G200, formerly sold independently by Galaxy.

Products

Current products

As of 2008, Gulfstream currently produces six models of private aircraft: [ [http://www.gulfstream.com/products/ Gulfstream Products page] ]
* G150 - based on the IAI Astra SPX.
* G200 - based on the IAI Galaxy.
* G250 - new mid-cabin business jet. [ [http://www.gulfstream.com/gulfstreamg250/ Gulfstream G250 - All New. All Gulfstream.] ]
* G350/G450 - based upon the Gulfstream IV-SP.
* G500/G550 - based upon the Gulfstream V.
* G650 - new wide-cabin business jet. [ [http://www.gulfstream.com/news/releases/2008/031308.htm Gulfstream Introduces the All-New Gulfstream G650] ]

Former products

* Grumman Gulfstream I (a twin turboprop business aircraft)
* Grumman Gulfstream II (this, and all subsequent Gulfstreams, are twin engine business jets)
* Gulfstream III
* Gulfstream IV
* Gulfstream V

ee also

* Pilatus Aircraft
* Piaggio Aero
* Beechcraft

References

;Notes

;Bibliography
* [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/ The New Georgia Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.Savannahnow.com/ The Savannah Morning News]

External links

* [http://www.gulfstream.com/history/ Gulfstream History]
* [http://www.gulfstream.com Gulfstream Web Site]
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