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Gulfstream Aerospace history
Gulfstream Aerospace company history timeline
Founded in 1958, Gulfstream Aerospace is the world leader in business aviation.
In 1959 the company unveiled the world's first business plane, the Gulfstream I. Two hundred of them sold quickly.
Design efforts began in 1960 with engineers striving to create a jet-powered Gulfstream.
In 1966, they relocated the civilian component to Savannah, Georgia where they had found a supply of skilled labor, an airfield adjacent to the plant and room for expansion.
A new building was commissioned at Chatham in June 1967 for the manufacturing and testing of the GII. The number of workers here grew from a 100 to several hundred within a few years.2 The 70s saw a merger between Grumman and a company called American Aviation Corporation.
The new building opened in June 1967 and was dedicated on September 29, 1967.
On September 29, 1967, the company established its Savannah base for the civilian aircraft production.
By the time production ended in 1969 Grumman had built 200 standard Gulfstream Is.
General Dynamics sold Canadair to the Canadian government in 1976, which following large losses in the Challenger programme sold Canadair to Bombardier.
The FAA certificated the aircraft in 1977 and built 18 in total.
The prototype, designated Hustler 400, first flew on January 11, 1978, but never entered production.
In 1978 he seized the opportunity to buy the Gulfstream plants and offices from Grumman for $52 million, forming the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation.
In 1978, the complete Gulfstream line and the factory in Savannah were purchased by American Jet Industries, a firm under the leadership of an entrepreneur in the field of aviation.
The move taken by Paulson seemed to be a profitable one, with revenues jumping from about 190 million dollars in 1980 to about 580 million in a couple of years.
The company also expanded outside of Savannah, acquiring in 1981 a large (400,000-square-feet) plant in Oklahoma City, the Gulfstream Aerospace Technologies.
In 1982, the company changed its name to Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
Under Paulson the Savannah work force grew to 2,500 by the spring of 1982.
The original Gulfstream IV flew for the first time in September 1985.
Purchased by Chrysler in 1985
In 1985, Chrysler Corp. acquired Gulfstream for $637 million as part of the automaker's plan to diversify into high-tech industries.
The firm earned the prestigious 2003 Collier Trophy in 2004 for the innovative design of the G550. It became a Fortune 500 company entering at number 417 in 1985.
In 1986 the company again expanded, acquiring a plant at Long Beach, California.
FAA certification followed in April 1987 and deliveries started shortly afterwards.
However, the control under Chrysler was ephemeral and the company was sold back to Allen Paulson and Forstmann Little and Co. in 1989.2 The decade that followed was a big one for Gulfstream.
In 1989 Chrysler decided to sell Gulfstream, and Paulson teamed with Forstmann Little & Co. – a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts – and bought Gulfstream back.
The decade that followed the 1989 repurchase was a time of significant advancements for Gulfstream.
The international market became increasingly important to Gulfstream Aerospace; by the fall of 1991, well over 60 percent of GS sales were abroad.
An attempt in the spring of 1992 to duplicate the sale of common share stock of ten years earlier fell through, with few buyers.
In April 1993 Fred A. Breidenbach, an executive at General Electric Company (GE) with a background in manufacturing, was named president and chief operating officer.
Lowe remained CEO and became chairman as well in May 1993, replacing Paulson.
Gulfstream's future was still in grave doubt, as its G V had potential head-to-head competition from Bombardier, which in late 1993 decided to proceed with the development of its own ultra-long-range model, the Global Express.
Gulfstream took a $204 million charge against earnings in 1993 to write off the balance of its investment in the G IV-SP, which the managers considered obsolete.
By late 1993 the new management team had staked the company's future to that of the G V, which was touted as an ultra-long-flight business jet with a maximum range of 6,500 nautical miles, 54 percent more than the G IV-SP, and with a slightly roomier cabin.
Gulfstream began producing an updated version, the Gulfstream GIV-SP, in 1993.
Providentially, the surging United States economy--which reignited the market for corporate aircraft&mdash′ovided Gulfstream with a huge boost starting in 1994, as sales increased, company debt fell, and back orders climbed steadily.
Meanwhile, in 1995 the company launched the Gulfstream Shares program in a joint venture with Executive Jet, Inc.
In 1998, Gulfstream purchased K-C Aviation from Kimberly-Clark Corp. for $250 million, which had operations in Dallas, Appleton, Wisconsin, and Westfield, Massachusetts. It completed the Gulfstream V Integration Test Facility and rolled out the GV – the first ultra-long range business jet – in 1995.
The opening of a $16 million Savannah service center with 136,000 square feet (12,630 m) of hangar space followed in 1996.
The GV was first delivered in the June of 1997 and was so well above its competitors that it set around 40 speed and distance records.
Meantime, Gulfstream received the 1997 Robert J. Collier Trophy, aviation's most prestigious award, from the National Aeronautical Association for the Gulfstream V.
Certification and first deliveries followed in 1997.
In addition to its aircraft, Gulfstream also offers such services as financing, leasing, charters, management, and maintenance. Its product line includes the Gulfstream IV-SP, which has a range of 4,220 nautical miles, placing Frankfurt in reach of New York; and the Gulfstream V, introduced in 1997, which has a range of 6,500 nautical miles, placing Tokyo within reach of New York.
In December 1998 the company announced a new management structure to take it into the next century.
At year-end 1998 56 G Vs and 50 G IV-SPs were on back order, representing about $3.3 billion in sales.
Gulfstream further expanded its service offerings through the launch in 1998 of a central clearinghouse to facilitate charter transportation on Gulfstream aircraft.
In 1998, Gulfstream purchased K-C Aviation from Kimberly-Clark Corp. for $250 million, which had operations in Dallas, Appleton, Wisconsin, and Westfield, Massachusetts.
Aircraft manufacturer General Dynamics purchased Gulfstream Aerospace in July 1999 and continued to develop the aircraft by adding midsize options.
The firm started an aircraft completion and refurbishment support centre at Savannah in the year 2000.
Along with this, in year 2001, the company also bought 4 maintenance centers in Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Dallas and West Palm Beach in Florida which in addition to the facility in Westfield, Massachusetts comprised the General Dynamics Aviation Services.
In 2001, it acquired Galaxy Aerospace and with it, the mid-size Astra SPX and super mid-size Galaxy, which were later rebranded the Gulfstream G100 and Gulfstream G200, respectively.
Also in 2001, Gulfstream purchased four United States maintenance facilities in Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, and West Palm Beach, Florida.
In 2002, the company started using a new type of nomenclature for its aircrafts.
In 2002, Gulfstream renamed its products, using Arabic numerals instead of Roman numerals to differentiate its aircraft.
2002 was also the year that Gulfstream introduced its Airborne Product Support aircraft, a specially equipped G100.
The type certificate was granted by the FAA in 2003, and deliveries began shortly afterwards.
The G550 was so technologically advanced, the aircraft won the 2003 Robert J. Collier Trophy, North America’s most prestigious award for technological achievement.
Also, in 2003, the long-range Gulfstream G450 was introduced.
In 2003, Gulfstream acquired a service center at the London-Luton Airport, the first Gulfstream-owned service center to be operated outside the United States.
This was used in the upkeep and repair of the Gulfstream and various other business jets. It started its first international service center outside the United States amidst the London – Luton airport in 2003.
In 2005, Gulfstream began to offer an in-flight internet connection – its Broad Band Multi-Link (BBML) system.
One of them was damaged during a hangar collapse at Charbatia air force base in eastern India in 2006.
NASA first flight-tested the Quiet Spike in 2006 as a proof of concept mounted on a modified F-15 fighter.
Also in 2006, Gulfstream announced plans to expand its manufacturing and service facilities in Savannah.
Soon, a second R&D Center was inaugurated which employed about 150 engineers.3 In March 2008, an all new jet was announced and introduced.
On March 13, 2008, Gulfstream announced the introduction of a new business jet: the Gulfstream G650.
In November 2010, Gulfstream announced an expansion of its Savannah facilities through a $500-million, seven-year plan.
Gulfstream suffered a major setback on April 2, 2011, when one of its G650 ultra long-range business jets crashed on the runway at Roswell, NM, fatally injuring the two test pilots and two flight test engineers on board.
In addition to the Savannah expansion, Gulfstream's sites in Westfield, Massachusetts, US, and Luton, UK, also grew in 2011.
As of late 2012 there were indications that Gulfstream was close to announcing the design of a quiet supersonic business jet, first drawings of which appeared in December 2012.
Last modified April 28, 2014. http://www.gulfstream.com/history/ “The History of Gulfstream.” Jet Charters.
Both aircraft are currently in flight testing, with the first G500 delivery scheduled to take place before the end of 2017.
Following the meet of US President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in July 2019, Qatar Airways expressed a desire to buy large-cabin aircraft from Gulfstream.
The certifications cleared the way for the first completed G600 deliveries to customers as scheduled in 2019.
Gulfstream announced the G700™ on the eve of the 2019 National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Las Vegas.
Gulfstream sold the last commercially available G550 in 2020.
On October 4, 2021 the company introduced the G400 and G800 to their product line.
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Gulfstream Aerospace competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trimble | 1978 | $3.8B | 11,500 | 269 |
| CTS Corporation | 1896 | $515.8M | 3,820 | 41 |
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| Hoffman Engineering | 1955 | $20.8M | 50 | - |
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| Goss International | 1885 | $700.0M | 3,000 | - |
| Aero Systems Engineering, Inc. | - | $57.7M | 100 | - |
Gulfstream Aerospace history FAQs
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Gulfstream Aerospace may also be known as or be related to GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE CORPORATION, Gulfstream Aerospace, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation - Georgia and Gulfstream International Corporation.