GREENSBORO – Boom Supersonic will invest $500 million in a manufacturing facility to be constructed at the Piedmont Triad Airport, company officials and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced this afternoon.

“We’re here in the Piedmont Triad, once again, to talk about good paying advanced manufacturing jobs,” said Cooper at a press conference held at the airport this afternoon.

“This afternoon, we’re launching the future of flight,” said Cooper.  “Supersonic, sustainable, zero-carbon flight.”

“Boom Supersonic will locate its flagship, final assembly line, its superfactory, right over there,” Cooper noted.

Overture: supersonic, net-zero flight

The company plans to construct its flagship passenger airplane, Overture, from the facility, a company spokesperson noted.  The company aims to produce Overture, which it says will be twice as fast as any commercial airline that is operating today, and will be net-zero for carbon emissions.

“It is poetic, and logical, that Boom Supersonic would choose North Carolina for its first manufacturing plant,” said Cooper.  “North Carolina is ready to soar.”

The announcement followed the approval of economic incentive packages by the state’s Economic Investment Committee worth some $100 million as well as the approval by local city and county officials this morning.

Together, the state and local incentives total nearly $130 million.

The project is expected to bring 1,761 jobs to Guilford County that pay about $69,000 in average annual wages.  Under the terms of the incentive package approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee, the company will invest $500 million and create at least 1,761 jobs by December 31, 2030, which would entitle the company to receive incentives for up to 20 years rather than the typical 12-year term of the Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) awards.

Beyond the initial jobs the company plans to bring, it anticipates the plant could employ up to 2,400 total workers, a spokesperson for the company said at the press event on Wednesday.

What the new Boom Supersonic manufacturing facility means for the Triad, NC

Some $130 million in incentives

The state incentive package is worth $87.4 million, under the JDIG approved unanimously by the state’s Economic Investment Committee, and total state incentives are just under $100 million.

The company had previously indicated that the approval of the economic incentive packages were critical to selecting the site, according to state officials presenting the project details on Wednesday to the state’s Economic Investment Committee.  The company also considered a site in Jacksonville, Florida, according to state officials.

The project, which has been known as “Project Thunderbird,” had been under discussion by the company and state and local officials since April 2021.  Project Thunderbird was confirmed to correspond to the business entity Boom Technology, Incorporated, and was confirmed during each of the three discussions held Wednesday morning by state and local officials.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners approved an incentive package on Wednesday morning, as did the Greensboro City Council, which likewise approved an incentive package for the company worth $1,500 per job, up to 1,761 jobs, if investment and job targets were met.  Between the two entities, the total incentives are worth up to $29.5 million.

A community college grant is worth approximately $4.7 million, and is included in the package as well, according to state officials.

Expected economic impact

According to state officials, the approved project will increase the state’s gross domestic product by $32.3 billion, and increase net state revenues by $1.1 billion.

“The state of North Carolina is proud to be a part of this project, and economists have estimated that it will impact our state’s economy by more than $32 billion over the next 20 years,” said Cooper.

Plus, the region will see job growth, adding more than 1,700 jobs by the end of the decade.  That’s in addition to the expected 1,750 jobs in the region that Toyota expects to add at its future electric battery manufacturing plant in Randolph County.

“In December, we gathered right down the road to welcome Toyota,” said Cooper.  “New battery plant means that our state will play a significant role in the future of cars and trucks.”

But today was all about the future of flight, Cooper said.  “We are ready.”

Unanimous approval

But Greensboro and Guilford County officials noted the opportunity that the construction of Boom Supersonic’s plant presented to the area during their scheduled meetings on Wednesday.

“This opportunity that is before you today is a part of a regional and state collaboration,” noted Chris Wilson, the Interim City Manager for the City of Greensboro, during the scheduled meeting of the Greensboro City Council, in discussing the project.

“Our request is for an incentive of $1,500 per job,” said Wilson.  “In return for that request, we would see $500 million in investment at PTI with 1,761 jobs created.”

According to a city document, “the average wage for the new full-time positions will be approximately $69,000 with additional benefits and no new jobs will pay below $15.00 per hour.”

The Greensboro City Council unanimously approved the incentive package on Wednesday morning.

“Great opportunity”

According to Guilford County Board of Commissioners Chair Melvin “Skip” Alston, the company would pay an average salary above the county’s median annual wage.

The meeting was livestreamed to the Guilford County Government’s Facebook page.

“We’ve been working with this project since April of 2021,” said Brent Christensen, President & CEO of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, in discussing the proposed project in the virtual Guilford County Board of Commissioner’s meeting on Wednesday.  “Great opportunity for our community and our airport.”

“The actual underlying property will be owned by the airport,” said Christensen, answering a question from Commissioner Kay Cashion.

“A great company with big plans,” said Christensen.  “Big plans for aviation and aerospace, and big plans for our community.”

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the economic incentive package, which according to meeting agenda documents shared with WRAL TechWire, included “authorizing an incentive for 80% of eligible tax revenue paid by the company and for an agreed upon period of 10 years.”

Such an incentive package is “pursuant to an incentive performance agreement containing benchmarks and schedule for the payment of such financial assistance,” the document notes.”

Is a supersonic jet manufacturer building a facility in the Triad? If so, here’s what it means for NC

Who is Boom?

Boom Supersonic, which recently signed a partnership with the U.S. Air Force and last year reached a deal with United Airlines, has big dreams.

“We believe in a world where more people can go to more places more often. Sustainable supersonic travel unlocks new possibilities for business relationships, prospects for vacation, and opportunities for human connection,” says Blake Scholl, the company’s founder and CEO.

Last year, United Airlines announced it would buy at least 15 of the company’s jets, with an option to purchase up to 35 additional ones, as reported by CNN.

A spokesperson for the company noted that workforce was top of mind, as was a location that would provide a quality of life for its future employees.  The company spokesperson also noted that the firm conducted a comprehensive search across the country, and that it came to believe that the Piedmont Triad was the best place in the country for the firm to set up its operations.

“The company we celebrate today could have gone anywhere,” said North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Michelle Baker Sanders.  “But they chose us, they chose North Carolina.”

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