Georgia facility that fuels America’s ‘arsenal in the sky’ will get bigger

The additional round of investment further bolsters Pratt & Whitney’s presence in Columbus, a Middle Georgia city heavily influenced by nearby Fort Benning and military culture. The back-to-back expansions also highlight how demand keeps accelerating for the company’s cutting-edge engines.

“It’ll increase our facility’s output for compressor and turbine discs, which are really the heart of these engines, by some 30%,” Shane Eddy, president of Pratt & Whitney, told a crowd of state and local dignitaries Wednesday. “These are the most critical and complex parts that we make.”

Pratt & Whitney, a Connecticut-based subsidiary of Fortune 500 aerospace and defense giant RTX Corp., first came to Georgia’s second-largest city in 1984. The operation steadily grew more robust over the decades and encompasses two facilities, the Columbus Engine Center and Columbus Forge, which are both cornerstone’s of the company’s engine manufacturing machine.

Credit: Courtesy of Pratt & Whitney

Credit: Courtesy of Pratt & Whitney

Eddy said the company since 2008 has invested more than $1 billion into the campus along Macon Road, which now employs about 2,600 workers. The employees primarily focus on maintaining hundreds of engines and producing compressor airfoils, which are the metal blades seen whirring in a jet turbine that produce thrust.

Pratt & Whitney has grown into the world’s second-largest commercial aircraft engine manufacturer. Its customers include Airbus, a supplier of passenger jets for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and carriers around the world.

The company also contributes to — and gets to benefit from — Georgia’s aerospace sector, which is one of the country’s largest. Georgia is home to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest, and more than 800 aerospace facilities.

The state’s top export in 2024 was civilian aircraft and ancillary parts, and Georgia boasts a robust network of aviation, flight and drone companies: Delta, Lockheed Martin, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. and PBS Aerospace are just a few.

The defense sector has also rapidly grown with the Department of Defense’s budget for missiles and munitions requests increasing 340% over the past decade, according to consulting firm Deloitte. Atlanta has attracted multiple defense contractors in recent years, such as drone developer Anduril Industries.

“We appreciate how much that Georgia plays a crucial role in engineering America’s arsenal in the sky,” Gov. Brian Kemp said.

Credit: Courtesy of Pratt & Whitney

Credit: Courtesy of Pratt & Whitney

On Tuesday morning, Roswell-based PBS Aerospace announced a “significant subcontract agreement” with Zone 5 Technologies for its turbojet engines that serve defense applications. The agreement’s specifics weren’t released, but it’s valued at “several tens of millions of dollars,” PBS Aerospace said.

Kemp touted that Pratt & Whitney’s choice to continue growing in the Peach State is proof the state’s business ecosystem is stable even when the broader economy is uncertain.

“One of the things that has been so gratifying for us this year and during these interesting economic times that we’re in is how many expansions from existing industries we have in the state,” he added. “(This) also positions us to meet the challenges of an evolving market and a rapidly changing scene on the international stage.”

In 2023 at the Paris Air Show in France, Pratt & Whitney announced a $206 million expansion to its Columbus campus, mainly comprising a 81,000 square foot addition to its engine center. The expansion increased the facility’s annual capacity by 25% and also led to 400 additional hires.

While nearly matching that investment figure, the forthcoming expansion focuses on adding a seventh isothermal forging press and will only add 15 new jobs at first with more to follow, according to the company. Pratt & Whitney expects to complete the expansion in 2028.

The latest expansion does not include any discretionary incentives from the state, a Georgia Department of Economic Development spokesperson said. The company will qualify for job creation tax credits and worker training through Georgia Quick Start, a program with which Pratt & Whitney is very familiar.

“Pratt & Whitney was an early beneficiary of Georgia Quick Start, a partner they have engaged with for nearly every expansion or major investment over their decades-long relationship,” said Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.