Will Add Third Building To Georgia Facility
Cessna broke ground Wednesday on
what will be its third building in Columbus, GA. The company will
invest up to $24 million to expand aircraft subassembly work here,
including construction of an $11 million facility at Muscogee
Technology Park.
The 100,000-square-foot building is slated to be completed in
August 2008. Cessna Columbus started with a 110,000-square-foot
building in 1996. The company added a second building -- roughly
130,000 square feet -- in 2001 to move the newly acquired McCauley
Propeller Systems from Dayton, OH and to support increased
production rates in Wichita and Independence, KS.
Cessna Columbus employees manufacture detail parts and
assemblies for Cessna's line of single engine pistons, Caravans and
business jets. Additionally, employees manufacture propellers under
the brand McCauley Propeller Systems. Cessna expects to add up to
150 jobs in Columbus over the next five years.
"Our company has enjoyed dramatic growth over the last few
years, and as a result we must continue to expand on many fronts,
especially manufacturing, to meet the growing demands of our
customers," said Ron Alberti, senior vice president, Integrated
Supply Chain. "To that end, we have seen considerable expansion at
our various sites around Wichita and in Independence. Today,
we’re pleased to announce that we will be expanding our
Columbus, GA facility, where we produce parts that feed our
assembly lines in Wichita and Independence.
"When we came to Columbus in 1996, there were about 70 employees
here, and now there are almost 600," he said. "The strength of the
workforce and the business climate in Muscogee County provides a
terrific environment in which to grow our business, and we expect
strong job growth as our business expands. Georgia’s Quick
Start training program and the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce
have been instrumental in allowing us to expand over the past 11
years."
Cessna’s newest building will be on a 40-acre site at
Muscogee Technology Park. The company’s existing two
buildings will continue operation on the 30-acre site they occupy
at Columbus East Industrial Park, three miles from the new
building.
Cessna plans to spend an additional $13 million over the next
two to three years to add machinery for increased capacity and to
introduce new technology at all three Columbus buildings.