Archer Aviation Selects Georgia For Manufacturing Facility Next to Covington Municipal Airport
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Archer Aviation Inc., a pioneer in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, recently announced plans to build its manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia, next to the Covington Municipal Airport. Archer has also announced recently its new partnership with Molicel to supply battery cells for Archer’s Midnight Aircraft.
On a 96-acre property, Archer intends to start by developing a 350,000-square-foot plant that can produce up to 650 aircraft annually. Over the long run, it is expected that the eVTOL aircraft production plant will provide over 1,000 jobs.
Initial production is projected to start in the second half of 2024, while construction is expected to be finished in the first half of 2024. The facility will have the capacity to grow by an additional 550,000 square feet, which is estimated to enable the production of up to 2,300 aircraft annually.
In order to choose the site for its first manufacturing facility, Archer Aviation thoroughly investigated all available locations across the US. The availability of skilled workers on the local labor market, the accessibility of utilities, the capability of conducting smooth flight test operations, construction expenses, and logistics were important factors to take into account.
A grant from the Georgia REBA is part of the incentive package that Archer will get. It also includes tax breaks and land conveyance. Archer believes that Synovus, the biggest bank with its headquarters in Georgia, will offer finance for the project as it works to develop its local community-focused ties in the state.
“After many months of discussion and evaluation, we’re excited to select Georgia as the location for our manufacturing facility,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s CEO. “The U.S. has long led the world in aerospace technology, and Georgia has played a vital role in that industry. Our eVTOL technology can transform how urban and rural communities live and commute and this factory can create pathways to highly skilled manufacturing jobs and other ladders of social and economic opportunity. I am grateful to Governor Kemp along with Bob Kosek, Sara Gershon, Serra Hall, Frank Turner, and their teams, as well as all my colleagues at Archer as we work together to pioneer these innovative aviation technologies.”
Commenting on the decision to locate the facility in Georgia, Governor Brian P. Kemp commented, “Georgia has made nurturing innovation a priority as we work with businesses to define the future. Our established leadership in the aerospace industry was essential to landing Archer Aviation in Newton County. We are thrilled to welcome Archer to the state of Georgia, where they can take advantage of our signature workforce training program Quick Start to help fill, in the long-term, over 1,000 jobs in Covington.”
Georgia, which is home to more than 800 aerospace businesses, maintains a strong pipeline for aerospace education, with 12 high schools that provide training in the industry, 5 technical institutions that offer aviation programs, and 7 universities that grant degrees in aerospace engineering.
For more than 10 years, the Georgia Center of Innovation for Aerospace, a strategic division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, has fostered an ecosystem of opportunity for cutting-edge businesses like Archer.
Source: Archer
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