AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — GE Aviation has picked Auburn for its plant that will make coatings for the components in military jet engines.
GE Aviation, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, had announced in August that it planned to locate a plant in Alabama and would decide the location within three months.
Gov. Bob Riley and Auburn Mayor Bill Ham revealed the selection Tuesday.
GE Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Co., said the 200,000 square-foot facility in Auburn Technology Park West should be completed in 2012 and should employ 300 to 400 people. Company officials said in August the plant would cost $40 million to $45 million, and it would likely be built near a major university. The company said Tuesday that Auburn University was one reason for selecting the college town.
The company's first plant in Alabama will make coatings used on components in extremely hot areas of the GE Rolls-Royce F136 jet engine for the Joint Strike Fighter F-35 planes.
The announcement by GE Aviation follows a decision by the Raytheon Co. in July to build a missile production plant in Huntsville that will create 300 jobs.
The state's industrial recruitment agency, the Alabama Development Office, describes aviation and aerospace industries as a rapidly growing part of Alabama's economy, supplying 73,000 civilian and federal jobs.
