EVENDALE, OH – GE Aviation is investing $200 million over the next three years in its Ohio operations in Evendale, Dayton, and Peebles.
The investments benefit from a 15-year Job Retention Tax Credit awarded to GE in 2009 by the Ohio Department of Development. When this incentive plan was established, GE had committed to invest $100 million in its Evendale headquarter operations – a commitment GE met in three years by modernizing facilities, razing inefficient buildings, and acquiring new equipment.
The $200 million in GE Aviation investments disclosed today are in addition to the original commitment.
"GE Aviation's Ohio network of facilities is vitally important to our success," said Colleen Athans, vice president and general manager of GE Aviation’s Supply Chain Organization. "A combination of strong volume on current product, coupled with needed capacity to develop our next generation product, requires that we make these infrastructure investments."
The capital projects include new engine test facilities at Evendale and at the Peebles test operations, as well as new equipment at the company’s Beaver Creek (Dayton area) factory. The details:
- Evendale: A new building will be constructed at the east corner of the complex to house a new test cell for engine combustors. In the heart of a jet engine, the combustor is where compressed air and fuel are mixed. The new test cell will handle the higher air compression rates demanded in future engine designs to achieve lower emissions. Also, a new test cell will be constructed (in Building 500) to test GE’s marine and industrial aero-derivative engines.
- Peebles: To handle higher production volume, a second indoor engine test facility is being constructed. Most Peebles test sites are outdoors. The first indoor site was built in 2007, when Peebles underwent a $90 million expansion. This second indoor facility will test the current GEnx and GE90 engines, as well as two engines under development, the GE9X and the LEAP engine. Being developed by CFM International, a joint company of GE and Snecma (SAFRAN) of France, the LEAP engine has received more than 4,500 orders and commitments. It is scheduled to enter revenue service in 2016. The GE9X was recently selected to power the Boeing 777X aircraft now under study.
- Dayton: At GE Aviation's production site in Beaver Creek, which specializes in components for jet engines, a high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade castings laboratory is being established.
In addition to these projects, GE Aviation is continuing construction of its Electrical Power Integrated Systems Research and Development Center (EPISCENTER) at the University of Dayton campus. This facility will enable collaboration with University researchers on advanced computer modeling, simulation, and analysis of advanced, dynamic electric power systems and controls. The Center, which will open late this year, will position GE to pursue electrical distribution opportunities for the next generation of planes.