Full-page ads in the papers of America’s most aviation-oriented cities — Wichita, Savannah and Seattle — are attempting to draw 100 specialized engineers to the HondaJet headquarters at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C. Cessna and Boeing may be laying off, but Honda Aircraft Co. is starting to ramp up. The specific technical positions target design and certification specialists from out of town even as Piedmont Triad works to develop an education and recruitment infrastructure. The area appears determined to leverage Honda’s investment of $100 million (that will ultimately create 400,000 square feet of facilities) and build on the 3,300 aviation professionals already calling the area home. HondaJet’s new hires would bring Honda Aircraft’s total employee base to about 500 (averaging $75,000 per year). Conforming HondaJets should be in the air sometime this summer for use in FAA certification testing and Honda hopes to have one in the hands of its first customer by late 2010.
Piedmont Triad International Airport is bolstered by the support of the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance, which recognizes the area’s aerospace influence as an industry that injects $1 billion into the local economy, annually. FedEx, Cessna, and B/E Aerospace are a large part of that influence, and FedEx, along with Honda has plans to open new facilities at the airport this year.
