POSITIVE RESULTS FROM THE CREATION OF THREE COMPOSITE TRAINING COURSES FOR GENERAL ELECTRIC AVIATION OF ELLISVILLE, MS

About

The General Electric (GE) Aviation facility, located in Ellisville, MS, produces advanced composite components for jet engines and systems. The 344,000-square-foot composite manufacturing facility opened in May 2013 and represents a $56 million investment that will create 250 new jobs for the State of Mississippi by 2017.

The Challenge

The opening of an advanced composites manufacturing plant created the need for a world-class workforce trained in advanced composites manufacturing technology. GE Aviation’s Ellisville Composites facility manufactures and assembles composite components that are unique in the aviation industry. Such products include fan platforms, inlets to direct airflow into the aircraft’s engine, and transcowls utilized in the engine’s thrust reverser system.

MEP Center's Role

The InnovateMEP Center at the Mississippi Polymer Institute’s (MPI) expertise and capabilities in polymer science and workforce training made it a natural choice for developing and delivering composite training. GE Aviation partnered with the InnovateMEP Center at MPI to develop the local workforce for the new facility. Ty Posey, MPI’s Workforce Development and Technical Leader, led the effort to create three composite training courses (Introduction to Composites, Composites Structures, and Lean Composites) for GE Aviation’s pre-employment and post-hiring needs.

Results

InnovateMEP Center at MPI delivered the first composites training course for GE Aviation in January 2013 and has delivered 32 training events since then. A total of 329 students have been trained in and successfully completed the program thus far. GE Aviation has hired 76 employees to date and has recently announced a new round of hiring. The program and collaboration has been so successful that GE Aviation and InnovateMEP Center at MPI are currently partnering to develop a new composites course in resin transfer molding for future training.

“I have personally been a part of the GE Aviation/InnovateMEP Center at MPI partnership for over two years. InnovateMEP Center at Mississippi Polymer Institute’s expertise and willingness to customize their services to meet our needs has been fantastic and I have recommended them to several other manufacturers in and beyond Mississippi.”

Nate Beach, Ellisville Plant Leader