Icon Aircraft, the maker of the much talked about amphibious Icon A5 LSA, has announced the location of its new headquarters, where the airplane will be produced and delivered once the company completes the ASTM approval process for the LSA. Icon is moving into a 140,000-square-foot facility in Vacaville, California and, based on a video released by the company that shows the plans for the plant, it promises to become a high-tech manufacturing base. Icon intends to use the new facility for manufacturing, training, sales, service and corporate headquarters.
The company will move in to the new plant at the Nut Tree Airport (KVCB) in at the beginning of next year. The choice of location keeps the company relatively close to Silicon Valley, where Icon was founded in 2006. Until then, production will continue at Icon’s facility in Tehachapi, which is located in Southern California.
Kirk Hawkins, Icon’s founder and CEO, said in a statement that the decision was “not a slam dunk” and that several government officials attempted to lure the potentially sizable manufacturing company to their states. Hawkins also said an independent study estimated the economic impact on the Vacaville area to exceed $350 million and that thousands of jobs could eventually result from the move. “We’re looking forward to making Vacaville our new home and attracting some of the area’s best and brightest talent to our team,” Hawkins said.
While the production headquarters are still only in the visioning stage, you can tour the facilities in this video.
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