Facilities Expansion At Cirrus; Pilatus Both Cirrus and Pilatus airframers just completed significant expansion of their manufacturing facilities. Cirrus Aircraft work was on expanding their manufacturing capabilities at their Grand Forks location while Pilatus recently completed a new composites manufacturing facility in Nidwalden, Switzerland. For Cirrus, the expanded capability is designed to support the airframer’s product portfolio, including the SR-series high-performance pistons and SF50 Vision Jet. For Pilatus in Switzerland, the Schwarzhorn -as they call it- was designed to expand their composite construction.
Two different airframers located on either side of the Atlantic Ocean who in many ways are competing against each other in some market segments have expanded key facilities to be able to keep up with surging demand. In the case of Pilatus, they have 40 years of composite building experience however, only on non-loadbearing structures like cowlings and covers. The new Schwarzhorn facility will build more structurally-specific components as their flagship PC-24 does contain lightweight composite elements. Expanding the use on Primary structural components is the key. Pilatus notes that composites are lighter and improve fuel efficiency and therefore is planning to expand its use of composites. The Schwarzhorn facility is a 123 million dollar investment by Pilatus.
Cirrus also recently completed a multi-million dollar expansion at the Grand Forks, North Dakota location. “This expansion reflects our continued investment in our people, our products, and the Grand Forks community,” said company CEO Zean Nielsen. “By adding more than 30,000 square feet, creating new jobs, and enhancing our workplace for our team members, we're positioning Cirrus for continued growth.” This part of expansion of the business it critically important. Of the approximately 500 employees at Cirrus, 80% of them work in direct manufacturing of the aircraft. ***
