Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney will spend $200 million to grow its manufacturing sites in Columbus, Georgia, a move intended to increase production of critical parts.
The company announced Tuesday that it will add a seventh isothermal forging press at its Columbus Forge facility. The press, expected to become operational by 2028, will boost output of components such as rotating compressor and turbine disks by 30 percent to support GTF, F135, and other engine programs, officials said.
Pratt’s GTF engine is used on various commercial aircraft, while the F135 powers the Lockheed Martin F-35.
Pratt last expanded its Georgia operations in 2023, when it added 81,000 square feet to its GTF maintenance, repair, and overhaul site. That project cost $70 million and increased the facility’s annual capacity by over 25 percent.
“Over the past four decades and with the support of the Columbus community, state, and governor, Pratt & Whitney’s presence in Georgia has grown from a small manufacturing facility to a state-of-the-art manufacturing and overhaul center, employing over 2,600 dedicated people focused on our mission: to connect and protect our world,” Pratt & Whitney president Shane Eddy said in a statement. “This latest investment will increase output of critical parts for our growing military and commercial engine programs and underscores our ongoing commitment to ramp industrial capacity to support our customers.”
Pratt & Whitney Columbus consists of the Columbus Engine Center and Columbus Forge. The engine center maintains GTF engines for the Airbus A320neo family, A220, and Embraer E-Jet E2, as well as the military engines that power the C-17, F-15, and F-16.
Columbus Forge produces compressor airfoils and compressor and turbine disks for commercial and military powerplants.
The commercial aviation industry is facing a severe engine backlog, mainly stemming from pandemic-era supply chain disruptions and increasing demand for new aircraft. Pratt is also in the process of inspecting and repairing GTF engines as part of a mass recall initiated in 2023, which has dented availability.
