Commentary: Good business news for the region

Asphalt can only be sealed; only concrete is resurfaced
5/26/12
Dollar stores get wider range of customers
5/26/12
Honda gets a double-shot of good consumer news
5/26/12
Anthem puts emphasis on quality
5/26/12
UD researcher uses know-how to photograph local eagles
5/25/12
> More headlines

By Arundi Venkayya Cox, Business Editor 5:31 PM Saturday, April 3, 2010

We reported much good business news in the region last week.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base will add 200 jobs by mid-2011 as part of a new acquisition program called the Installation Acquisition Transformation Enterprise Sourcing Group. More notable, however, is General Electric Aviation’s commitment to create a $51 million Electric Power Research and Development Center in the Dayton area. The company had been looking at other existing locations in Michigan, Kentucky and England as possibilities.

The center will perform research and development work related to advanced electric power technology for military and civilian hybrid electric vehicles and additional uses in aircraft and ships.

And while the company won’t say exactly where the center will be until later this year, GE officials said it will be in the Dayton area. The company already has a manufacturing plant in Vandalia.

It’s easy to speculate about why companies don’t want to be in the Dayton area. It’s less common to hear why companies choose to be here.

Vic Bonneau, president of electric power for GE Aviation Systems, said “GE’s already in the Dayton area and there is a proximity to existing businesses,” he said. “We’re not building this R&D center for blue-sky research and development. We are looking at new systems that can go into products.”

GE also wanted to make it easier for key customers such as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and company engineers to visit the research and development center. The University of Dayton Research Institute also will work closely with GE.

“Having that customer (Wright-Patterson) in this area is really important. They drive a lot of research,” he added.

The company sells to commercial airplane manufacturers and the military. The $7.6 million in Third Frontier funding GE received also drove the decision. “That money being accessible right from the beginning is a big deal,” Bonneau said.

GE had been considering whether to develop the center for several years and decided to move forward in large part because of the Third Frontier funding.

“It’s a true catalyst,” he said. “This is one of the best things that Ohio has done to attract technology jobs. I know I wouldn’t have gotten the approval without the Third Frontier.”

Share this article