In response to the considerable aging and reduction of the inventory of the country's air fleet, the FAA encouraged a plan for the progressive replacement of the fleet through manufacturers of national origin. For this the landowner of Buenos Aires, José María Beraza, inspired by Alejandro Agustín Lanusse The inauguration of the plant occurred on December 12, 1972 It was decided to manufacture aircraft under license from Piper Aircraft Corporation, the largest light aircraft factory in the world, with bases in Lock Haven, Vero Beach, Renovo and Quehanna, in the United States, thanks to Piper's licensed production plan to produce aircraft. abroad, it envisaged assembly in emerging third world countries, with the main benefit of commercial penetration and the reduction of labor costs that this implied. Thanks to the industrial promotions, which gave reductions and tax deferrals to certain areas of the country, they took the owners of Chincul to settle in the town of Pocito in the province of San Juan. There were built two hangars: Endings, and production: 70 m front by 110 m long. Together with other sectors and annexed workshops, the total covered area reached 14,000 m2 covered.
The plant maintained a simultaneous process with 10 assembly lines, with about 450 employees, working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year "24x7". In total they produced some 960 aircraft, which constituted an absolute record and a demonstration of the country's industrial capacity.
Final years and bankruptcy
By the middle of the 1980s, the Sanjuanina plant started a slow downward slope due to the inflationary process that was experienced at that time, in addition to the bankruptcy of its Piper Aircraft mother house. The Cuyano settlement of the Beraza tried to keep the head for a while longer, but 10 years of setbacks prevented it. Finally, between 1991 and 1994, a final series of the PA-18 Super Club model was produced, definitively ceasing the activity on January 31, 1995, the date on which its huge gates were closed at the Pocito plant. Today the facilities offer the image of a sad abandonment, which contrasts crudely with those industrial buildings covered with airplanes.
