By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Johnson Technology, Inc. has invested $12 million in equipment to produce components for a new ‘green’ jet engine. That new equipment has garnered the company an Industrial Facilities Tax (IFT) abatement from the city, and the product line will create 25 jobs at their 90,000-square-foot Muskegon plant.
“We make six components for a new General Electric jet engine called GEnx,” said President Dave Yacavone. “The engine has extremely low carbon emissions, low noise, and super fuel efficiency. GE is selling them to commercial airlines worldwide.”
Yacavone expects to hire machine operators, engineers, business managers, and technicians for the metallurgical lab. Fifteen positions are already filled.
The company employs just under 500 people at two locations, and recruits engineers from MSU, Michigan Tech, Ferris State University, GVSU, and U of M. Financial and other support staff are recruited from GVSU and Western Michigan University.
“We’re not having brain drain out of Michigan for the jobs we recruit for,” Yacavone said.
A second 80,000-square-foot plant in Norton Shores recently installed $8 million of equipment to diversify into production of components for commercial applications. The Norton Shores plant qualified for a city IFT and added 30 employees in 2006.
Many of the engine components Johnson Technology makes go into 50- and 70-seat regional jets, Boeing 737s, and Airbus A380s (a double-decker plane). The GEnx engine is used in Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Source: Dave Yacavone, Johnson Technology, Inc.
Deborah Johnson Wood is Development News Editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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