GE Aviation expands its US network of operations

MANILA, Philippines - With its global business base growing, GE Aviation is expanding its manufacturing and research and development footprints in the United States with three new facilities to open by 2013. 

GE Aviation’s production rates are expected to grow from approximately 3,000 commercial and military engine deliveries in 2011 to 3,400 deliveries in 2012 and 3,800 deliveries in 2013.

To gear up for this delivery growth as well as expanded product offerings, GE Aviation will invest approximately $580 million in plant, equipment, and tooling during the 2011 to 2012 time frame across its network of 55 US operations.

GE Aviation employs approximately 25,000 employees in the US, an increase of 1,000 employees since 2010, and will add more than 400 employees over the next three years.

“We are firing on all cylinders,” said David Joyce, president and CEO of GE Aviation. “Our new-product development efforts and current product deliveries are at historic levels.  We are a global enterprise with operations worldwide, but our expanding business has driven the investment in US plants and equipment.”

The construction underway of three new GE Aviation sites reflects the company’s growing collaborations with US communities:

• Ellisville, Mississippi: By year’s end, GE Aviation will complete construction of a 300,000-square-foot factory to manufacture advanced composite components for jet engines and aircraft systems. The facility will begin operating in 2013, and is expected to create 250 manufacturing jobs by 2016.

• Auburn, Alabama: Also by year’s end, GE Aviation will complete construction of a 300,000-square-foot factory to produce advanced machined parts for commercial and military engines.

• Dayton, Ohio:  Located on the University of Dayton campus, construction is underway for GE’s new Electrical Power Integrated Systems Research and Development Center (EPISCenter).  The 120,000-square-foot center will collaborate with university researchers on advanced computer modeling, simulation and analysis of advanced dynamic electric power systems and controls.  The center will be operational in 2013.

GE Aviation’s investment in its US operations has not been limited to these new sites. The Evendale, Ohio, headquarters is undergoing a multiyear, $100 million renovation. The airfoils facility in Greenville, South Carolina is adding 100 jobs between 2010 and 2013.  Finally, at the GE Aviation Flight Test Operation in Victorville, California, a newly acquired Boeing 747-400 is undergoing a $60 million refurbishment and conversion to serve as a flying testbed.