Between Delta, Lockheed, Gulfstream and many others, Georgia is one of the top states in the country for the aerospace industry. With more than 200,000 aerospace workers, the industry is the state’s second largest manufacturing industry, generating some $57.5 billion in economic impact. That number got a little bigger this week with the announcement from Gov. Brian Kemp that Archer Aviation Inc. will be building a new manufacturing facility in Newton County, adjacent to the Covington Municipal Airport.
“Georgia has made fostering innovation a priority as we work with companies to bring the jobs of the future to the No. 1 state for business,” said Kemp. “Our established leadership in the aerospace industry was essential to landing Archer Aviation in Newton County, and we’re pleased to welcome them to the Peach State.”
Archer is based in Santa Clara and specializes in sustainable urban air mobility. The Newton County facility will be a new state-of-the-art electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) manufacturing location, creating 1,000 jobs and investing $118 million over the next ten years. eVTOLs are still in their relative infancy, from a concept developed by NASA that debuted in 2009. Think of a very futuristic looking helicopter. They use electric power to hover, take off and land vertically like a helicopter. The growing need for urban air mobility (air taxis), means a growing demand in the eVTOL market.
“After many months of discussion and evaluation, we’re excited to announce Archer’s decision to locate its first manufacturing facility in Covington as we continue to progress towards commercialization,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO. “Our goal of creating Urban Air Mobility networks across major cities nationwide requires us to ramp production of our aircraft. This facility represents a huge step toward ensuring we can meet this challenge head-on.”
The site in Covington is strategically accessible to Interstate 20 and will consist of three buildings on nearly 100 acres. Eventually, Archer will build up to a capacity of building 2,300 aircraft per year at the facility. Hiring will begin late next year, with aircraft rolling off the line in 2024. With the more than 800 aerospace companies in the state, Georgia has experience in workforce development in the industry. A dozen high schools offer training in the field, with five technical colleges offering aviation programs and several universities with aerospace engineering degrees. The Georgia Department of Economic Development has a Center of Innovation for Aerospace that has been connecting companies like Archer for more than 10 years.
