$1B gas turbine engine facility hailed as major win for northwest Florida

A massive, one-million-square-foot, high-volume aviation gas turbine engine manufacturing complex is being built by Williams International at Shoal River Industrial Park in Okaloosa County, Fla.

The complex, pegged at a cost of more than $1 billion, will be constructed in three phases within the industrial park. It is one of the largest projects in the history of northwest Florida.

In all, three buildings will be built over a period of years. The venture will create more than 330 jobs.

Aviation officials and politicians are hailing the announcement as a major win as it establishes the state as a rising hub for aerospace activity and manufacturing.

Williams designs and manufactures military and civil gas turbine engines, including the FJ33 and FJ44 series for business jets. The company also prioritizes establishing integrated and automated facilities to support the production and delivery of its military and commercial products.

The decision to pick Florida followed a comprehensive, multi-state search initiated by the aerospace and aviation manufacturer.

The first building, a 250,000-square-foot facility is slated to begin construction later this year, with completion scheduled for late 2026. Subsequent facilities will be constructed in 2028, with the final 500,000-square-foot building planned for the 2035/2036 timeframe. All buildings will be completed by 2036.

The new venues will add to the company’s existing plants in Pontiac, Mich., and in Ogden, Utah.

“We are very excited about starting our next phase of growth in Northwest Florida,” said Gregg Williams, chairman, president and CEO of Williams International. “We are grateful to the Triumph board and for the strong, unified support from all of our Florida stakeholders that will enable us to create many high-quality, high-technology jobs producing the world’s best gas turbine engines.”

Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc. is a Florida-based non-profit corporation established to oversee the distribution of funds from the state’s economic damages settlement with BP related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

“This is an exciting win for northwest Florida’s growing aviation industry sector,” said Triumph Gulf Coast chair Jay Trumbull.

Numerous state, regional, and local partners worked with Williams, the world leader in the design, manufacturing and support of aviation gas turbine engines, to bring the project to northwest Florida.

It started in 2022 when Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded $3.2 million through the Florida Growth Grant Fund to expand manufacturing in Okaloosa County. FloridaCommerce partnered with state and local organizations, including CareerSource Florida, Florida’s Great Northwest, Space Florida, Okaloosa County and Triumph on the major economic development win.

In a statement, DeSantis said the investment is a “major win” for Florida and Floridians and shows the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is working.

The project is another feather in Florida’s cap when it comes to aerospace activity and manufacturing.

Recently, SpaceX announced it is investing $1.8 billion to build a new Starship assembly facility and launchpads called Gigabay along Florida’s Space Coast near Orlando that will support the next phase of the company’s deep-space missions. Preparations for the 46.5-million-cubic-foot facility have already begun, with construction targeted to be completed by the end of 2026.

“Northwest Florida is proving itself to be a rising hub for aerospace activity and an essential part of Florida’s expanding aerospace ecosystem,” noted Rob Long, president and CEO of Space Florida. “Williams International’s expansion in this community is a stellar example of how new opportunities for innovation and investment are being built in every corner of the state – reinforcing all of Florida as the global and interplanetary centre for aerospace commerce.”

Secretary of Commerce Alex Kelly said Florida continues to attract advanced manufacturing throughout the state.

“This is a win for Northwest Florida” and was made possible through partnership with numerous agencies, including One Okaloosa EDC, a not-for-profit private-public partnership serving Okaloosa County as its primary economic development and business advocacy organization.

“This is a monumental project that will have a lasting impact on both Okaloosa County’s economy and the entire region,” explained Paul Mixon of the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners. “We are fortunate to have been able to invest in the infrastructure at Shoal River Industrial Park to attract an aerospace industry leader like Williams International, and I am thankful to One Okaloosa EDC and Florida Commerce for their hard work and support in this effort.”

One Okaloosa EDC executive director Nathan Sparks said the new complex is a true testament to the importance of preparation, partnerships and persistence and without the view of the key partners, “our community would not be celebrating this tremendous success today.”