Southwest Ohio's aviation industry continues to soar
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More than a century after Southwest Ohio helped give birth to aviation, the industry continues to shape the region's identity and economy.
Why it matters: That expertise is still paying dividends, supporting thousands of jobs and attracting companies building the next generation of aircraft and engines.
- That includes GE Aerospace, one of the world's largest aircraft engine makers, which has more than 10,000 employees in the region.
The big picture: Greater Cincinnati has more than 185 aerospace manufacturers and nearly 19,000 aerospace jobs, according to REDI Cincinnati, the 15-county region's economic development organization.
- REDI says aircraft engine and parts manufacturing is significantly more concentrated here than it is nationally.
Flashback: Cincinnati was an aviation hub well before GE arrived.
- Lunken Field was the world's largest municipal airport in 1925, and Charles Lindbergh landed there two years later.
- Aeronca built light aircraft near Lunken before moving to Butler County.
Wright Aeronautical opened an Evendale factory in 1941 to build radial engines for World War II aircraft, with Orville Wright attending its grand opening.
- GE later took over the site and began producing jet engines there in 1949.
- GE manufactured the J47 in Cincinnati and ultimately produced about 35,000, making it the company's most-produced jet engine.
"Cincinnati has a rich aviation history because of its technical know-how. You had so many skilled people in this area, along with the suppliers and expertise to do this work," says Nick Hurm, a GE Aerospace customer communications representative.
- GE Aerospace called Cincinnati "Jet Center USA" in the 1950s, and "it's still appropriate today," Hurm says.
Driving the news: Today, a new generation of aerospace companies is investing in that regional advantage.
- Defense manufacturer Beehive Industries is investing $70 million and adding more than 200 jobs in Southwest Ohio to make advanced 3D-printed jet engines.
- Meanwhile, CVG is the nation's sixth-largest cargo hub.
The aerospace footprint increasingly stretches north toward Dayton and Springfield, where companies are working on the next iteration of flight.
- Electra chose Springfield over more than 140 locations for an $850 million factory expected to create 1,975 jobs. It'll build hybrid-electric aircraft capable of taking off and landing in 150 feet.
- Part of the attraction was the proximity to regional universities and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
"The region brings together everything Electra needs ... exceptional defense and aerospace talent, advanced testing infrastructure, world-class research institutions and an industrial base built for the demands of aircraft production," CEO Marc Allen tells Axios.
What's next: The same aerospace ecosystem attracting newcomers is helping keep one of the region's oldest industry players rooted here.
- GE Aerospace's Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky workforce is its largest concentration of employees anywhere in the world.
"When you're home, you're home," says H. Lawrence Culp Jr., GE Aerospace chairman and CEO. "Considering the role Ohio plays in the aerospace industry and the … employees we have in the area, we're proud to have our headquarters in Greater Cincinnati."
