Pratt opens new jet-engine center

Pratt opens new jet-engine center

With the U.S. involved in more and more military conflicts across the globe, this is very good business for the companies that make parts and weapons. Many of those companies have facilities in Florida, and Pratt & Whitney is one of those. They just opened a 100,000 SF facility to make jet engines. The $63 million dollar facility is expected to employ 340 workers eventually. These are great high paying jobs with average salaries of $81,110, far above the county average which is $46,000. This is part of a deal Pratt & Whitney signed in 2012 - 2013 with Palm Beach County and the State that provided them with a $4.79 million dollar incentive package. In exchange Pratt agreed to create 230 jobs and retain 531 jobs by 2021. Pratt says they are ahead of those projections now. The existing facilities have been used for the testing of engines, while the new center allows for the manufacture of engines. Workers here are building the F135 engine which goes in the F-35 Lightning II, which is a single engine combat aircraft for the U.S. Army and other foreign markets. Soon they will also begin manufacturing Pure Power commercial jet engines for Airbus aircraft. As production gets ramped up on both products more workers will be brought on to handle the increased capacity. Aside from the new building, what significance does this have to the region you might ask? The answer is $442 million dollars into the local South Florida economy over the next 10 years. Who ever said that there wasn't a bright side to war? As always thanks for reading and have a great day.