Pratt & Whitney will build a 1-million square foot manufacturing plant in western North Carolina, investing about $650 million and creating 800 jobs through 2027, the jet engine manufacturer and state officials have announced.
Commercial aerospace revenue has fallen sharply in the covid-19 pandemic as planes are grounded and travel restrictions drag on for months. Pratt & Whitney has imposed pay cuts, furloughs and laid off about 450 salaried workers in Connecticut.
Still, the East Hartford, Conn.-based engine maker, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp. in Waltham, Mass., is looking to expand and be ready for growth after the coronavirus has passed.
"This investment will enable Pratt & Whitney to continue to modernize and transform its operations with cutting-edge technologies," said Chris Calio, president of Pratt & Whitney.
Turbine airfoils are a critical component in Pratt & Whitney engines "and demand will increase significantly as the market recovers over the next several years," he said.
"We need to invest today to ensure that we have the infrastructure, production capabilities and workforce in place to meet future market demand and provide the best products to our customers worldwide," Calio said.
Pratt & Whitney did not approach Connecticut as a possible site for expansion, according to a spokesman for the state's Department of Economic and Community Development.
Mike Stone, directing business representative of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, which represents Pratt & Whitney workers, called it a shame that the new venture will be outside Connecticut where the engine maker's start coincided with the beginnings of commercial aviation in the 1920s.
"Naturally, we get a little trepidation when there's a downside," he said.
The North Carolina plant will do the same work making components for engines used by commercial and military aircraft as workers at the Middletown and East Hartford, Conn., plants, Stone said.
North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Anthony Copeland said aerospace is a "vibrant part" of the economy of North Carolina, which is the site of the first flight by the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk in 1903.
The average annual salary for new jobs at the Asheville, N.C., plant is expected to reach $68,000, nearly 58% higher than the average wage in the area. When all the new positions are filled, the payroll will pump $54 million into the region's economy annually, state officials said.
Pratt & Whitney could potentially receive up to $15.5 million over 12 years as part of a state Job Development Investment Grant. The state will make payments after Pratt & Whitney has demonstrated it reached job creation and investment targets.
Connecticut enacted legislation in 2014 authorizing United Technologies Corp., then the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, to use up to $400 million in accumulated state tax credits in exchange for a commitment to spend as much as $500 million on its various businesses by 2020. The state Legislature approved the deal with bipartisan support, but some critics have called it a giveaway benefiting one company.
The deal with Connecticut guarantees that United Technologies will stay in Connecticut for at least 15 years and commits it to build a new headquarters for Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford. It also must commit to refurbishing and adding to its East Hartford research development center, which was completed in 2017.
In the U.S., Pratt & Whitney operates plants or overhaul and repair and other work in Springdale and in Florida, Georgia, Maine, Michigan and Texas. The manufacturer, which posted sales of nearly $21 billion last year, also operates overseas plants in China, Greece, New Zealand, Singapore and Turkey.