Company type | Private company |
---|---|
Industry | Defense |
Founded | 1961 |
Headquarters | São José dos Campos, Brazil |
Area served | Latin American |
Key people | João Brasil Carvalho Leite (President and CEO) |
Products | |
Number of employees | 800 (March 2024), 420 layoff[1][2] |
Website | www |
Avibrás Indústria Aeroespacial, based in Jacareí, São José dos Campos, Brazil, is a diversified Brazilian company which designs, develops and manufactures defense products and services.[3] Its range of products encompasses artillery and aircraft defense systems, rockets and missiles such as air-to-ground and surface-to-surface weapon systems, including artillery rocket systems; 70 mm air-to-ground systems and fiber optic multi-purpose guided missiles. It makes armoured vehicles as well. It also manufactures civilian transportation through a division called Tectran, telecommunications equipment, electronic industrial equipment (Powertronics), automotive painting and explosives.
In April 2024, DefendTex, an Australian company, has proposed acquiring the company, which has a debt of more than R$600 million or around €80 million, of which R$14.5 million is owed to workers.[4][5][6][7] In June 2024, the Australian Government decided not to support DafendTex financially in the acquisition of Avibras.[8] Norinco is also interested in Avibrás, with 49% stake, if DefendTex could not raise US$70 millions from Australian Government Credit to its acquisition and transfer advanced missile manufacturing capability from Brazil to Australia.[9][10] Avibrás is supposed to be valued at US$200 million, laid off 420 employee, a third of its workforce in 2022, those who remained were not paid for more than a year. Its debt is estimated at R$570 million (US$104.5 million) in 2022 and had ballooned to R$700 million (US$128.480 million) in 2024.[11][12][13] Federal Deputy Guilherme Boulos presented on July 18, 2024, in the Chamber of Deputies a proposal Federal Government to expropriate the industry with R$2 billion, to own brazilian government continue development of ongoing and new projects.[14]