July 28, 2011 - GE Aviation, a global leader in jet engine and aircraft systems production, announced it will open a new manufacturing facility in Ellisville, Mississippi, to meet accelerating global demand. GE will invest $56 million in the new facility. The company is targeting for production to begin in 2013 and will create 250 new high-tech manufacturing jobs by 2016. 

The 300,000-square foot facility will manufacture advanced composite components for aircraft engines and systems for GE Aviation?s growing business. The announcement follows the 2008 opening of GE Aviation?s manufacturing facility in Batesville, Mississippi, which now employs 300 workers and is growing. The two sites represent a $150 million investment by GE in aviation technology by the end of decade. 

?We are excited to expand our production capability in Mississippi with the opening of a second plant that will create hundreds of new high-tech jobs this decade for the state,? said David Joyce, President and CEO, GE Aviation. ?GE has invested more than $12 billion in the research and development of reliable technology innovation over the past ten years and today?s announcement shows that commitment is paying off.? 

?Within ten years, GE Aviation will have created more than 600 jobs for Mississippi workers and invested $150 million in the state,? said Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

The expansion into Mississippi underscores the growth at GE Aviation, where deliveries of commercial engines for GE and its partner companies will grow this year and in 2012, approaching record levels. Over the next several years, GE Aviation will invest hundreds of millions of dollars across its more than 30 operations in the U.S., including at new manufacturing operations in Auburn, Alabama; and in Mississippi. GE Aviation employs approximately 17,000 workers in manufacturing in the U.S. 

In 2011, deliveries of commercial engines produced by GE Aviation, CFM International (50/50 joint company of GE and Snecma), and the Engine Alliance (50/50 joint company of GE and Pratt & Whitney) will grow approximately 10 percent over 2010 deliveries of 2000 engines. Combined with GE's military engines, total engine deliveries in 2011 for GE Aviation and its partner companies are expected to reach 3,200 engines.

During the Paris Air Show in June, GE Aviation and its joint venture companies accumulated engine and services orders valued at more than $27 billion. GE engines are now on more than 25,000 planes around the world. 

GE develops and produces the world?s most advanced composite components for jet engines and systems. Composite components being produced by GE Aviation in Mississippi provide greater durability and engine weight savings, which translate into better aircraft fuel efficiency and reduced maintenance and replacement costs.