Work begins on GE Aviation plant in Lafayette
GE Aviation ceremonially turned its first shovel of dirt Monday, kicking off a $100 million investment in a new factory to assemble jet engines.
Underneath the morning sun on a clear summer day, dignitaries ranging from mayors, county commissioners, the governor, senators and the 4th District congressman tried to sum up the importance of this project to the community that has combined manufacturing, technology and higher education.
“We are a community that does its homework, which is important in being able to mark milestones like today,” Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said. “We plan ahead. We build infrastructure. We prepare shovel-ready sites and work together for the good of all.
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“Our message is: Come to Tippecanoe County. We’re open for business. And GE Aviation is doing just that.”
When GE Aviation wanted to build a new plant to construct its high-efficiency LEAP engine, it considered sites in nearly every state, said Tony Aiello, vice president and general manager of assembly tests and MRO operations of GE Aviation. The news broke at the end of March that Lafayette won the competition.
“We looked at a number of different factors,” Aiello said. “We looked at, obviously, location and proximity to our testing facilities. We looked at the workforce. We looked at the communities that we would be located in. We looked at other industry that was in the area because you want to be part of a vibrant community where you’ve got good skills available to you.”
All things considered, Lafayette seemed like the best fit for GE Aviation, and for the community here, they couldn’t be happier.
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“GE has chosen the people of Indiana,” Gov. Mike Pence said, “putting their confidence in their commitment to excellence, to innovation, to craftsmanship and to a work ethic that is a part of our reputation around our nation and around the world.”
As work continues, passerbys on Veterans Memorial Parkway and U.S. 52 will notice a 225,000 square-foot factory rising from the dirt just south of the Nanshan factory. When production begins, GE’s LEAP jet engine — a high-efficiency aircraft engine — will roll out the doors, destined for Boeing, Airbus and Chinese jet manufacturers. By 2020, GE is expected to employ 200 people in high-paying jobs that average $36 a hour, nearly $75,000 a year.
The LEAP engine is a joint venture between GE Aviation and Snecma of France, and there are already 6,000 engines ordered, according to previous Journal & Courier reports.
At the beginning of the month, GE Aviation had 6,000 preproduction orders for its LEAP engine, but after last week’s International Air Show in the United Kingdom, GE Aviation now has 7,500 orders for the new engine, Aiello said.
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Landing the GE Aviation assembly line bodes well for Lafayette and its future.
Purdue President Mitch Daniels said, “For my money, if you were starting a community or an economy with one company in the world, I can’t name one that I would rank above GE – for all the reasons that you know. …”
“If you were going to pick one business unit within arguably greatest company in the world, it might well be GE Aviation for the technology that they bring, for the promise – the explosive promise – of their business line and for the multiplier effect – the spin-off effect – that is possible given all the sensational technology.”
“If we were going to pick just one jewel and say a prayer that somehow it would come here, I don’t think we could have been more fortunate.”
GE Aviation will begin hiring in 2015 and production is expected to start in 2016.
Roswarski said, “The ‘Made in Lafayette’ stamp will look great on that new LEAP engine assembled here. What makes it such a breakthrough product? It’s the world’s first passenger-jet engine with 3D-printed fuel nozzles made of heat resistant and light weight material, has fan blades made of carbon fiber, and it has fewer welds.”
“GE Aviation will redefine 21st century assembly,” he said. “We are honored to be partnering with one of our countries most storied and iconic companies. A true global leader.”