Eclipse Aviation Corporation last week announced adding a former senior manager for organizations such as Dell Computer, Gerber Scientific and Marconi Communications to its management. Bill Bonder, most recently a senior global strategic commodity manager for Dell, joined Eclipse as vice president of supply chain management. According to Eclipse, Bonder will work to optimize the Eclipse 500 global supply chain network during preproduction into volume production. “We have successfully identified the worlds highest-quality suppliers, and now is the time to add an experienced supply chain leader to the Eclipse team,” said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. Eclipse says its plans are on track to certify the Eclipse 500 in early 2006; the company says it has a backlog of more than 2,100 orders secured with non-refundable deposits. Eclipse plans to start production in early 2006 with an aggressive ramp to up to 1,000 aircraft per year by 2009. “As in every facet of our business, we will utilize the most innovative business processes and sophisticated technologies to manufacture the Eclipse 500,” Raburn added.
