General Electric Aerospace will make a $22 million investment to its Wilmington facility. (Port City Daily/File)
WILMINGTON General Electric Aerospace will make a $650 million investment in its manufacturing facilities and supply chain in 2024, with multi-millions coming to its local facility on Castle Hayne Road.
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The money will fund increased production to support its commercial and defense customers. A spokesperson for GE Aerospace said its to help ramp up demand after the pandemic for customers looking for new, efficient engineswith greater range and capabilities.
GE Aerospace works toward modernizing jet and turboprop engines and other sustainable systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. This includes LEAP engine production, production preparation for the GE9X, and supporting U.S. military and its allies.
Roughly $400 million in the investment strategy will be put toward new machines, inspection equipment, building upgrades, and new test cells and safety enhancements at 22 of its facilities in 14 states.
The $22 million infused into Wilmington will be for machines and specialized tooling to increase capacity. It also will help with facility updates.
These investments allow us to build on the strong 40-year history we have here in Wilmington to meet our customers needs and ensure a bright future for GE Aerospace as we become an independent company, Jackson Autry, site leader for GE Aerospace Wilmington, said in a press release.
GE announced three years ago it would split into three companies, to center on aerospace, healthcare and energy. The aerospace division is to be finalized this spring.
In addition to aerospace, in Wilmington GE has fuel manufacturing and training facilities. The county and city approved incentives for its energy sector in 2022, signing off on $1.9 million, with the county forking over $1.25 million and the city contributing $250,000, to be paid over five years. The money was to be used for hiring staff for the rollout of GE Hitachis small nuclear reactor and building a new facility to produce fuel for a different reactor.
GE Aerospace is investing $46 million overall in North Carolina, with $11 million to go to Asheville, $7 million in Durham and $5 million in West Jefferson.
Alabama, Massachusetts, and Ohio are also cumulatively set to receive more than $200 million. Internationally, the company is investing another $100 million at facilities in in North America, India and Europe.
An additional $100 million will go to supplier partners based in the United States that make castings and forgings and early-stage parts for commercial and military engines.
In addition to investments, GE Aerospace is hiring more than 1,000 employees for external positions at its U.S. factories. Locally, its looking to hire 20 more people, with the facilitys job openings here.
These investments are part of the next chapter for GE Aerospace, supporting cutting-edge equipment and safety enhancements that will help us meet our customers growing needs, chairman and CEO, H. Lawrence Culp Jr. wrote in a press release.
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GE Aerospace to invest $22M locally as part of increased production goals - Port City Daily