SAO PAULO, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TAM's (NYSE: TAM, BOVESPA: TAMM4) Technological Condominium at Sao Carlos, in the interior of the State of Sao Paulo, announced today the start of operations of Goodrich do Brasil, the first international company to be installed in an area already partially occupied by TAM's Technological Center, which is a business unit of MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul), and by the TAM Museum. The Goodrich Corporation is a worldwide supplier of systems and services for aerospace, defense and homeland security markets. The unit operating at Sao Carlos will be providing services to TAM itself, as well as to other airlines.

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"The installation of Goodrich at our Technological Condominium represents an important step towards increasing our competitiveness in terms of maintenance costs. We are certain that the synergy created by this integration of the supply chain will bring benefits both for TAM as well as for the other companies that will be starting up operations at the aeronautical complex," declared TAM's Vice President for MRO, Ruy Amparo.

Bob Gustafson, vice president and general manager of aftermarket services for Goodrich Aerostructures, said: "Goodrich do Brasil is a clear demonstration of our commitment to serving customers with speed and ease. We announced our intent to establish a MRO facility in Brazil back in 2007 as part of a service agreement with TAM, and we see great long-term growth potential in the Latin American and Caribbean market."

The Technological Condominium is anticipating the installation of companies in 22 lots of 18,000 square meters each, within the TAM complex at Sao Carlos, which occupies a total area of 4.6 million square meters. The occupants of the facility will operate independently, but will be sharing all of the local infrastructure, including services for security, cleaning, food, runways and hangars for aircraft, as well as technical services such as painting, electroplating and the machine shop, among others, with the observance of best practices for environmental preservation.

The accommodation of new occupants will be carried out in accordance with the strategic project guidelines of the facility, whose focus is on giving priority to companies that have synergies with TAM's productive chain, or that have a strong connection to the aeronautical sector.

Technological Center

TAM's Technological Center at Sao Carlos is certified by the aviation authorities of the United States (the Federal Aviation Administration - FAA), Europe (the European Aviation Safety Agency - EASA), Brazil (Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil - ANAC) and a number of countries in South America, to perform all major scheduled maintenance (checks C and D), except on engines, on Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 and A330 aircraft, along with the Boeing B767, both for its own fleet and those of others, as well as Fokker-100 planes.

Since January of 2007, TAM has held IOSA certification (IATA Operational Safety Audit), the most complete and accepted international attestation of operational safety. The IOSA audit encompasses more than 950 requirements in an airline's eight operational areas, including aircraft engineering and maintenance, among others.

Since its inauguration in 2001, TAM's complex at Sao Carlos has already received more than R$200 million in investments. In addition to its maintenance hangars, the complex houses workshops for carrying out maintenance on more than 3,000 aircraft components, from navigational computer systems to landing gear.

SOURCE TAM