GE Aviation buys Ohio firms

GE Aviation, the world's top producer of jet engines for commercial and military aircraft with manufacturing plants in Batesville and Ellisville, Miss., has bought two suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, manufacturing technologies’ firms that make lightweight parts for unmanned aerial vehicles to hip replacement prototypes in the medical-business world. Morris Technologies and its sister firm, Rapid Quality Manufacturing, have been a GE Aviation, GE Power Systems and Global Research Center supplier for years. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Source: Cincinnati (Ohio) Business, Nov. 20, 2012.

Columbus plant to produce more Army helos

EADS North America was awarded a U.S. Army contract for 34 more UH-72A ‘Lakoda’ helicopters – to be built at its Columbus, Miss., plant, according to a release from the company. The contract option was for $181.8 million which would bring the total number of helicopters under contract for delivery to 312. The Army plans to buy 347 Lakotas through 2016. The Columbus plant delivers an average of five of the helicopters per month. The same production line would produce the firm’s armed Lakota derivative (AAS-72X+) for the Army’s Armed Aerial Scout helicopter program. Source: EADS North America, Nov. 14, 2012.

National labs gather with Mississippi’s researchers

‘National Lab Day’ gave three American groups and four Mississippi universities’ research teams the opportunity Thursday to learn about new pathways and collaborative efforts to advance solutions on issues such as developing an electrical grid that repairs itself to designing safer military vehicles. Officials from Oak Ridge, Argonne and Lawrence Berkeley national labs and Mississippi’s four research universities met to draw on their expertise and interaction to tackle the nation’s needs. Source: Daily Journal, Nov. 9, 2012

GTR Airport scores with passengers

Columbus’ (Miss.) Golden Triangle Regional Airport saw a 13 percent jump in its passenger numbers in October, the single highest total (8,000) in 10 years, the airport’s executive director says, likely an indicator of a strengthening to East-Central Mississippi’s economy. The airport serves northeast Mississippi and west Alabama. Source: WVTA-TV Columbus, Miss., Nov. 8, 2012.

Fla. county buys Columbus-built helos

Brevard County, Fla., has bought two Columbus, Miss.-built American Eurocopter helicopters - dubbed the ‘Squirrel’ - that it plans to utilize for mosquito control, firefighting and herbicide application. Brevard has been experiencing a 250 percent increase in mosquito breeding over the past two years. The AS350 AStar aircraft are scheduled for delivery in July 2013. Source: Helicopter Association International, Oct. 31, 2012.