WEST PALM BEACH, FL—Global manufacturing firm Pratt & Whitney will be spending $100 million on an expansion of its existing West Palm Beach campus here.
The initiative, announced earlier this week in a ceremony that included Gov. Rick Scott and other state, county and local officials, will also create 215 new jobs at the company's facility here where it currently maintains a workforce of approximately 1,300.
Dave Carter, SVP of engineering at Pratt & Whitney, said, “This investment will support the vital needs of our defense customers, and there's no better home for it than West Palm, where we test the F-135 engine for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft. Everyone at Pratt & Whitney is committed to connecting people through air travel, growing economies through that connection and supporting defense missions.”
Pratt & Whitney is a designer, manufacturer and servicer of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units and is a division of United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, CT. UTC provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries.
The $100-million investment will support the expansion of the campus and the new equipment needed for manufacturing, engineering and the development of new technologies, the company stated.
“Today's exciting announcement shows why Florida is leading the nation in job growth and why we will never stop fighting to make sure that hard-working companies, like Pratt & Whitney, can grow and create jobs,” said Gov. Scott.
The project was made possible through the efforts of Enterprise Florida, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Palm Beach County's Business Development Board. State and local governments offered Pratt & Whitney nearly $3.1 million in economic incentives over eight years for the expansion, according to a report in the Sun-Sentinel. A state official told the newspaper that the state was in competition with Georgia for the Pratt & Whitney requirement.
Pratt & Whitney opened its original 7,000-acre facility in West Palm Beach in 1958, focusing on engineering and research. In 2014, the company opened its 97,000-square foot West Palm Beach Engine Center and state-of-the-art engine production facility.
The company has spent more than $188 million in capital investments in its West Palm Beach facility since 2000 to support the production of the world's only geared turbofan commercial engine, the Pratt & Whitney GTF, as well as the engine for the world's only fifth generation fighter jet.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
