New HQ and plant as GE Honda Aero jet engine gets set for production

Honda Aero, Inc., has announced it will build its new corporate headquarters and a state-of-the-art jet engine manufacturing plant in Burlington, North Carolina. Employing 70 associates, Honda Aero will develop advanced, efficient GE Honda Aero jet engines ready for production in 2010.

GE and Honda Aero joined forces in 2004 to start development, certification and commercialisation of jet engines in the 1,000 to 3,500 pounds thrust class. Once production starts, the first engine to fly off the production line will be the advanced, low emission GE Honda HF120 turbofan engine, which sits within the 2,000-pound thrust class.

Honda Aero plans to build 200 engines in the first year of production and approximately $27 million (£18m) will be invested for construction of the headquarters and manufacturing facility, including equipment.

Located adjacent to the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport, the giant 102,400 square foot premises will be made up of office space (36,000 square foot), a production plant (58,400 square foot) and an engine test cell (8,000 square foot). Construction is due to start this October and will complete in 2008.

“This is a major step forward for our company, as we move to establish the home of our jet engine manufacturing operations here in Burlington,” said Fumitaka Hasegawa, president and CEO of Honda Aero, Inc. “Just as our partnership with GE has created this class-leading engine, this facility reflects an important new partnership between Honda and North Carolina.”

A bit more about the GE Honda HF120:

It is the most fuel efficient engine it its class, has the quietest operation in its class and has a higher thrust-to-weight ratio.

While there are currently no emission regulations for small turbofan engines, the HF120 is expected to surpass the future anticipated emissions standards by as much as 20 percent.

The GE Honda HF120 has been chosen to power two of the newest and most advanced products in the business jet market – Spectrum Aeronautical’s Freedom and HondaJet. These will be produced by the Honda Aircraft Company, Inc.