Boom Supersonic’s ‘Overture Superfactory’ at the Piedmont Triad International Airport will open new doors for not only the region, but North Carolina students as well, according to education and economic development leaders.“This is just another indication that it is our time in the Triad,” said Michael Fox, president of the Piedmont Triad Partnership. “This alone is a huge deal but in combination with the Toyota announcement, it really is a message to the world that North Carolina – in particular, central North Carolina and the Triad region – is the hub of transportation technology in the future.”PTP, as it is known, is a regional, economic development nonprofit organization focused on supporting chambers of commerce to assist with marketing the area for development purposes. Fox called Boom’s arrival a “high profile success” for the area.Boom Supersonic announced Wednesday at PTI it would build the manufacturing facility for its futuristic, high-speed sustainable aircraft at the Greensboro site with the goal of the first aircraft coming off the line by 2025. President and chief business officer for Boom, Kathy Savitt, said Wednesday some of the draws to the area included proximity to the coast for future aircraft testing, a skilled workforce and strong schools. She said the company is already organizing internship and apprenticeship programs and that hiring a diverse team is a core value of the company.At North Carolina A&T State University, Dr. Sanjiv Sarin is a professor of engineering and special assistant to the chancellor for strategic partnerships. Developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships between the university, its students and faculty with companies, like Boom, is a significant part of this role at the university.“At A&T, we’re seeing what we can do to help propagate growth and how we can take advantage of the opportunities for our students, as well as research and development opportunities for our faculty members,” Sarin said. “It’s going to be a win-win situation. It’s huge.”Sarin said the December announcement of Toyota building its EV battery manufacturing site in Randolph County coupled with Boom Supersonic’s announcement confirms the Triad is positioning itself, and its people, for strong future success.“These are game-changers,” he said of the companies. “I think this is the beginning of what happened in Silicon Valley.”Savitt specifically said Wednesday she hoped to see a strong number of applicants from HBCUs, like A&T, as they begin and continue to hire. Sarin wasn’t surprised to hear it.“They come to us because we’re largest HBCU and when they want technical talent, we have got not only a lot of graduates, but a lot of smart graduates,” Sarin said.Thomas Stith, the president of the North Carolina Community College System, said he too is thrilled to hear another major company will be coming to the region. Stith said community colleges are critical to providing accessible education and educating a strong talent pool for companies to hire from. “It is going to be the North Carolina community college system that leads this economic growth that we see in North Carolina now,” Stith said. “It is going to be vitally important to properly invest in the community college system, so we have the resources to train and educate the workforce.”According to the company, the facility will consist of the assembly line, testing facility and customer delivery center on 65 acres of airport property. The company plans to break ground in 2022.
Boom Supersonic’s ‘Overture Superfactory’ at the Piedmont Triad International Airport will open new doors for not only the region, but North Carolina students as well, according to education and economic development leaders.
“This is just another indication that it is our time in the Triad,” said Michael Fox, president of the Piedmont Triad Partnership. “This alone is a huge deal but in combination with the Toyota announcement, it really is a message to the world that North Carolina – in particular, central North Carolina and the Triad region – is the hub of transportation technology in the future.”
PTP, as it is known, is a regional, economic development nonprofit organization focused on supporting chambers of commerce to assist with marketing the area for development purposes. Fox called Boom’s arrival a “high profile success” for the area.
Boom Supersonic announced Wednesday at PTI it would build the manufacturing facility for its futuristic, high-speed sustainable aircraft at the Greensboro site with the goal of the first aircraft coming off the line by 2025.
President and chief business officer for Boom, Kathy Savitt, said Wednesday some of the draws to the area included proximity to the coast for future aircraft testing, a skilled workforce and strong schools. She said the company is already organizing internship and apprenticeship programs and that hiring a diverse team is a core value of the company.
At North Carolina A&T State University, Dr. Sanjiv Sarin is a professor of engineering and special assistant to the chancellor for strategic partnerships. Developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships between the university, its students and faculty with companies, like Boom, is a significant part of this role at the university.
“At A&T, we’re seeing what we can do to help propagate growth and how we can take advantage of the opportunities for our students, as well as research and development opportunities for our faculty members,” Sarin said. “It’s going to be a win-win situation. It’s huge.”
Sarin said the December announcement of Toyota building its EV battery manufacturing site in Randolph County coupled with Boom Supersonic’s announcement confirms the Triad is positioning itself, and its people, for strong future success.
“These are game-changers,” he said of the companies. “I think this is the beginning of what happened in Silicon Valley.”
Savitt specifically said Wednesday she hoped to see a strong number of applicants from HBCUs, like A&T, as they begin and continue to hire. Sarin wasn’t surprised to hear it.
“They come to us because we’re largest HBCU and when they want technical talent, we have got not only a lot of graduates, but a lot of smart graduates,” Sarin said.
Thomas Stith, the president of the North Carolina Community College System, said he too is thrilled to hear another major company will be coming to the region. Stith said community colleges are critical to providing accessible education and educating a strong talent pool for companies to hire from.
“It is going to be the North Carolina community college system that leads this economic growth that we see in North Carolina now,” Stith said. “It is going to be vitally important to properly invest in the community college system, so we have the resources to train and educate the workforce.”
According to the company, the facility will consist of the assembly line, testing facility and customer delivery center on 65 acres of airport property.
The company plans to break ground in 2022.