GE Aviation picks Alabama

GE Aviation will create a $45 million coatings facility for military jet engine components in Alabama, officials announced today. GE Aviation, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is in the final stages of selecting a site for the center. The coatings facility will be involved in the GE Rolls-Royce F136 jet engine being developed for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. GE Aviation's Alabama facility will be 200,000 square feet and is expected to open in the 2011-2012. The facility is expected to employ 300-400 people. Pratt & Whitney makes the primary engine for the F-35, and GE Rolls-Royce is the alternate engine. (Source: Multiple, including Mobile Press-Register, 08/25/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the home of the Joint Strike Fighter Training Center; Rolls-Royce tests large commercial jet engines at Stennis Space Center, Miss.