An aircraft and helicopter engine manufacturer is taking its Georgia operations to new heights.
On Tuesday, at the 2023 Paris Air Show in France, Pratt & Whitney announced a $206 million expansion to its Columbus campus, promising an additional 400 jobs. Since the mid-1980s, the Connecticut-based company has made Georgia’s second-largest city, which hugs the Alabama border, its home base for manufacturing critical components for its military and commercial engines.
Among Pratt & Whitney’s major aerospace customers is Airbus, a supplier of passenger jets for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and carriers around the world.
The expansion is not uncharted skies for Georgia, which boasts one of the largest aerospace industries in the country. Gov. Brian Kemp, who attended the Paris Air Show where multiple Georgia-related announcements were made, touted Pratt & Whitney’s new investment in a news release as a sign that the state’s sky-high business ambitions are being rewarded.
“From the flights that go through the world’s most utilized airport to the engines in the very airplanes, the Peach State is crucial to the movement of goods and products,” Kemp said. “Pratt & Whitney’s decision to expand will only further that reputation.”
Georgia is home to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest airport, and more than 800 aerospace facilities, including several operated by Lockheed Martin and private jet-maker Gulfstream. Last year, Georgia factories shipped $9.2 billion of aerospace products across the globe, making the Peach State as the fifth-largest exporter in the United States, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
Pratt & Whitney has an existing employee base of roughly 2,000 in Columbus, where workers maintain hundreds of engines and produce compressor airfoils — the metal blades seen whirring in a jet turbine that produce thrust. The expansion is expected to be completed by 2028 and will include 81,000 square feet of new engine maintenance space and new machinery, which will allow the company to annually overhaul 400 Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines.
“Our Columbus business has grown from a small manufacturing facility to a large, state-of-the-art manufacturing and overhaul center,” Shane Eddy, president of Pratt & Whitney, said in the release. “This investment will help ensure that we have the infrastructure, machinery and equipment upgrades in place to provide the best products and services to our customers worldwide.”
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Pratt & Whitney will likely qualify for job creation tax credits and worker training through Georgia Quick Start, and a Georgia Department of Economic Development spokesperson said negotiations involving discretionary incentives, such as grants, remain active.
The expansion comes on the heels of a new engine repair shop by Delta TechOps, which services Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engines. The 155,000-square-foot facility houses more than 100 mechanics, who repair engines used across about 150 airlines.
Archer Aviation, an electric aircraft developer, also announced Tuesday in Paris that progress is being made on its forthcoming 100-acre campus in Covington, east of Atlanta, where the California-based company plans to build its first mass production facility for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for taxi service. The factory, which is a partnership with European auto brand Stallantis, is on track to open in mid-2024.
“High-volume manufacturing is critical to ensuring we can meet this goal and joining forces with one of the leading mobility companies in the world is helping us realize the once-in-a-generation opportunity we have to redefine urban transportation,” Archer’s founder and CEO, Adam Goldstein, said in a news release.
Credit: Archer Aviation and Stellantis
Credit: Archer Aviation and Stellantis
Large job announcements of 2023
These are some of the large jobs announcements in Georgia so far this year.
Company: Qcells
Project: Solar panels manufacturing
Locations: Dalton and Cartersville
Jobs/investment: 2,500 jobs, $2.5 billion in investment
Company: Anovion Technologies
Project: Synthetic graphite manufacturing
Location: Bainbridge
Jobs/investment: 400-plus jobs, $800 million in investment
Companies: Hyundai suppliers
Project: More than a half-dozen suppliers to the future Hyundai Motor Group EV factory
Locations: Several in coastal Georgia
Jobs/investment: Collectively, more than 2,600 promised jobs and $2 billion in investment
Company: Anderson Corp.
Project: Energy-efficient window and door manufacturing
Location: Henry County
Jobs/investment: 900 jobs, $420 million in investment
Company: Admares
Project: Manufactured housing and commercial buildings
Location: Waycross
Jobs/investment: 1,400 jobs, $750 million in investment
Company: Sam’s Club
Project: Distribution center
Location: Lithia Springs
Jobs/investment: 600 jobs, $142 million investment
Company: Meissner
Project: Pharmaceutical manufacturing and research and development
Location: Athens
Jobs/investment: 1,700-plus jobs, $250 million in investment
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