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On the Record with
BILL BOISTURE, PRESIDENT & COO, GULFSTREAM
Gulfstream Will Continue to Broaden Line
Gulfstream is "well along in developing" the so-called
GIV Next, Gulfstream president and COO Bill Boisture told Show
News. But with the usual reticence displayed by corporate
aviation executives who don't want to reveal details too soon,
he added that "we will announce specifics when we're ready."
He did say, though, that the GIV Next will sport an advanced version
of the Rolls-Royce Tay engine, and "will have improved performance
from an airfield and range point of view."
On the question of whether the GIV Next will incorporate the new
PlaneView cockpit suite, Boisture was mum. The PlaneView cockpit
integrates a Honeywell visual guidance system, an enhanced vision
system developed by Gulfstream itself, a cursor control device
and Honeywell's Primus Epic flight instrumentation suite. The
package is a key ingredient in the new Gulfstream V-SP.
Once it's unveiled, the GIV Next will be the latest in a quickly
expanding line of Gulfstream business jets that now includes the
G100 and G200--the former Astra SPX and Galaxy business jets,
respectively--that Gulfstream parent General Dynamics acquired
when it bought Galaxy Aerospace.
"We're positioning Gulfstream with a broader product line,
and as an active competitor in the mid- and super-midsize market--with
continuing development of the GV-SP and continuing investment
in the GIV Next," said Boisture.
Expanding the product line was a goal of Boisture's and Gulfstream's
long before the company became part of General Dynamics. Boisture
said he initiated contact with the owners of Galaxy years ago,
but "the time wasn't right, the financials weren't right,
and our management team wasn't ready."
He continued, "When we were acquired by General Dynamics
in 1999 we made it clear at that point that we thought in the
long term we could compete more effectively as a broader product-line
company. That came from this team of people.
"General Dynamics has a very focused corporate strategy,
improvement and growth of organic business and disciplined redevelopment
of capital. There is a very strong commitment to deliver to General
Dynamics the performance that was projected when they bought this
organization. It was evident that this team was delivering the
results we committed to, and the chairman of General Dynamics
said 'now I'm ready to listen to your ideas about growing,' so
we began to develop alternatives for growth."
And Boisture believes General Dynamics got a good fit between
the Astra SPX and Galaxy and the Gulfstream products.
"For the size and complexity (of the acquisition) it came
together pretty quickly," he said. "When we examined
the underlying design philosophies on the airplanes they had many
similar characteristics to our airplanes in terms of ruggedness,
reliability, performance and manufactured quality."
The G100 and G200 will continue to be manufactured in Israel and
flown to the U.S. for completions. Boisture said Gulfstream has
no plans "at this time" to transfer any aspects of G100
and G200 manufacturing to America.
With the addition of the G100 and G200, plus development of the
GV-SP, GIV Next and a major cockpit program in PlaneView, Gulfstream
has plenty on its plate. Boisture is confident, though, that his
staff is up to the challenge of all these new responsibilities.
"Over the last five or six years we have built a very strong
management team, which I would say is the best in the business.
There is a great deal of confidence that we can work on change
and progress on multiple fronts. As we have taken this on I'm
confident we'll be successful. It always comes down to people."
-Barry Rosenberg
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