Honda to Locate Jet Engine Plant in North Carolina
The engine to be built, the HF120, will power the upcoming HondaJet and was developed in conjunction with GE.
Honda Aero Inc., the aircraft engine subsidiary of Honda Motor Co. Ltd., says it will invest $27 million in a new jet-engine manufacturing plant and headquarters in Burlington, NC.
The plant and headquarters, to be located on 90 acres (36 ha) adjacent to the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport, is expected to be operational by late 2010, employing 70 workers that will build 200 engines per year, officials say during a conference call with the media today.
Honda says the latter two goals will be reached within one year of the commencement of production.
The engine to be built, the HF120, was developed in conjunction with GE through a joint venture, GE Honda Aero Engines LLC, established in October 2004 to develop and sell the HF118 turbofan prototype jet engine for light-jet applications.
The HF120 is the successor to that engine, and officials promise it will be the most advanced engine in the 2,000-lb. (907-kg) thrust class with the highest fuel efficiency and longest maintenance intervals.
The HF120 will power the upcoming HondaJet, as well as Spectrum Aeronautical’s Freedom, Honda says.
A local elected official says the engines not only will be manufactured in Burlington but also be maintained there as well.
Future Honda Aero employees in Burlington can expect to make more than $62,000 per year, not including benefits, the official says, adding the rate is double the county average.
The Burlington plant is approximately 23 miles (37 km) from Greensboro, NC, where Honda Aircraft Co. will establish its headquarters, as well as build the HondaJet, at the Piedmont Triad International Airport. Deliveries of the HondaJet are expected to begin in 2010.
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