Anglo American Airmotive will launch the Piper Malibu Meridian in the UK at an open day on Wednesday June 13 at Bournemouth International Airport. The Meridian will be on display throughout the day and accompanied by an opening ceremony for the new hangar and operations facilities to be conducted by Piper’s president and ceo Chuck Suma.

Anglo American Airmotive has already delivered the first Meridian in the UK and at least three more are anticipated this year. The company has extended the size of its main facilities at Bournemouth with an extra 8,000 square feet of hangarage with servicing and operating facilities. The expansion is a result of increased demand for space and expanding maintenance, flight operations and avionics divisions.

New Piper Aircraft Inc. has delivered almost 50 Meridians to date with production being targeted at around 125 for 2001.

Meanwhile, Chuck Suma has unveiled a new five-year business plan that calls for New Piper to more than double its revenues by 2005.

Dubbed Flight Plan 2005, Piper's new business strategy earmarks five core areas that Piper will focus on to grow the company from its revenues of $181.5 million in 2000 to a half-a-billion-dollar company

in 2005.

Suma said that Flight Plan 2005, coming on the heels of the company's introduction of the Piper Meridian, places Piper in an excellent position in the general aviation arena: “With our introduction of the Meridian,” he said, “we believe we have brought to market the most advanced single engine turboprop in the world – and in doing so, we have delivered to our customers the plane they told us we needed in our line-up."

He added: "Our core business is building aeroplanes. We want to build more of them, and we want to build them better."