Historic Hartzell commits to $10M investment, new jobs in Piqua

While the company has more than 350 employees in Piqua, those celebrating the company’s plans Friday did not offer precise numbers about how many new jobs are expected. But all agreed that jobs will be added.

The planned Innovation Center includes all of Hartzell’s carbon fiber blade production, WhirlWind Propellers production, and is the new home for the Hartzell Service Center.

It was the carbon fiber blade production that drew the most attention at a company celebration Friday. These are true carbon fiber blades, not merely carbon coating over a wood core, advocates said.

“This is advanced staff, competitive in the marketplace,” said J.P. Nauseef, president and chief executive of JobsOhio.

Part of Hartzell’s growth is fueled by a partnership with a company that is becoming increasingly familiar to the Dayton area.

Hartzell has worked for several years with Beta Technologies, a producer of flying electric vehicles and a competitor with Joby Aviation, who is itself establishing a significant manufacturing presence in Dayton and Vandalia.

Last year, Beta earned Federal Aviation Administration Part 35 Type certification for the first propeller designed specifically for advanced air mobility aircraft, Hartzell and JobsOhio said.

This is the first propeller certified specifically for integration with electric propulsion systems, JobsOhio said.

BETA has flown with Hartzell propellers for more than four years.

While JobsOhio and the Dayton Development Coalition hailed the company’s planned $10 million local investment, Mitch Heaton, Hartzell’s director of sales and marketing strategy, said owner Signia Aerospace’s investment in Piqua will reach some $40 million in two buildings over time.

The new center is located off Covington Avenue in Piqua, a short drive from the main company factory at One Propeller Place.

“Hartzell Propeller’s decision to build its Innovation Center in Piqua is critical to driving progress in the aerospace industry, showing the world Ohio’s vision to lead in this sector,” Nauseef said in a statement. “This latest investment builds on Hartzell’s legacy of propeller technology innovation in the region for more than a century, and Ohio’s investment of more than $1.2 billion in advanced aerospace manufacturing and infrastructure over the last five years.”

Arcline Investment Management, a New York private equity firm, acquired Hartzell Aviation from Tailwind Technologies in 2023. Arcline founded Signia Aerospace in July 2022.

Hartzell at the time of the acquisition operated two business units: Hartzell Propeller and Hartzell Engine Tech.

The Ohio company has had multiple owners over the decades. The business was born in 1917 when Orville Wright — a friend of Robert Hartzell, son of founder George Hartzell —suggested that the Hartzells use walnut wood to build airplane propellers. Soon, with one employee, Hartzell was doing just that, according to the company’s history.

“This is hallowed ground,” said Joe Zeis, a retired Air Force colonel and a senior advisor on defense matters to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

The Brown family bought Hartzell from previous owner TRW in 1987.

The business designs and makes proprietary aircraft subsystems and aftermarket components.