GE making $7M investment in Lafayette engine plant
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Boston-based GE (NYSE: GE) has announced plans to invest more than $450 million in several of its U.S. manufacturing facilities this year, including $7 million at the GE Aerospace Lafayette Engine Facility. The company said Thursday the funding will provide tooling support for the plant’s LEAP and Passport engine production.
A spokesperson for GE told Inside INdiana Business the investment will include the addition of new jobs, though a specific number was not provided. The Lafayette plant currently employs more than 230 people.
The $100 million, 300,000-square-foot Lafayette Engine Facility opened in 2015 about 10 miles from the Purdue University campus.
Employees at the facility perform final assembly for the company’s CFM LEAP-1B engine, core assembly for the LEAP-1A engine, as well as LEAP maintenance, repair and overhaul services. The two engines are used to power the Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A320neo aircraft, respectively.
GE’s spokesperson said the new jobs at the Lafayette plant will help the company fulfill its backlog of about 10,000 LEAP engines. The company has produced more than 5,500 engines to date.
The Lafayette facility also produces the Passport engine, which powers the Bombardier Global 7500 and 8000 business jets.
GE is also investing in its aerospace facilities in Massachusetts, Ohio, Alabama, and Kentucky. The company is currently looking to fill more than 800 jobs across the entire GE Aerospace footprint.
“GE Aerospace is a world leader in aircraft engine production due in large part to the strength and ingenuity of our U.S. employee base,” CEO Lawrence Culp, Jr. said in a news release. “The investments we’re making this year support cutting-edge technology that will help advance the next generation of aerospace manufacturing, ensuring a strong future for our employees, our business, the industry, and our commercial and military customers.”
The total $450 million investment is split between GE Aerospace, which is receiving $335 million, and GE Vernova, the company’s portfolio of energy businesses that is slated to receive $117 million.
During a special Greater Lafayette Town Hall edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick in 2018, then-Plant Leader Renato Vidal, who has since been promoted to Operations Director at GE Aviation, spoke about the plant’s efforts.
You can view the full interview by clicking here.