Beehive Industries Invests $70M to Expand Additive Jet Engine Production in Ohio
Beehive Industries is investing $70 million to expand its additive manufacturing operations for jet engines in Southwest Ohio, creating over 200 new jobs.
Beehive Industries, a manufacturer of additively manufactured jet engines for uncrewed defense systems, is significantly expanding its operations in Southwest Ohio with a $70 million investment. This expansion is projected to create more than 200 new jobs. The announcement was made in collaboration with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, JobsOhio, and REDI Cincinnati, with the goal of accelerating growth in advanced aerospace manufacturing and the local workforce.
Governor DeWine highlighted Ohio's position as a prime location for business and national defense, stating that this investment will place the state at the forefront of military engine production. Beehive Industries differentiates itself by designing its propulsion systems around additive manufacturing from the outset, rather than adapting conventional engines. This approach, coupled with a self-contained, domestic supply chain, reportedly reduces development timelines from years to months and improves cost and scalability for U.S. defense customers.
Demand for Beehive's Frenzy engine family is driving this expansion, with the engines entering full-rate production. The U.S. Air Force recently awarded Beehive a $29.7 million contract for the integration, flight testing, and qualification of its 200 lbf Frenzy 8 engine, and to advance the smaller 100 lbf Frenzy 6. This initiative supports the Air Force's Family of Affordable Mass Munitions, aiming for cost-effective, large-scale systems.
To meet this demand, Beehive has been rapidly increasing its manufacturing capacity. The company recently committed over $50 million to 30 EOS M4 ONYX metal 3D printers, representing the largest single publicly disclosed order for EOS. These machines will be distributed across Beehive's Tennessee and Colorado facilities, doubling its metal additive manufacturing capacity. Additionally, Beehive acquired two precision machine shops in Greater Cincinnati, Able Tool Corporation and Planet Products Corporation, establishing a Production Machining Center of Excellence. These acquisitions, combined with the EOS printer order, are intended to enable the production of over 8,000 engines annually. Furthermore, Beehive has placed a multi-unit order for Nikon SLM Solutions' NXG 600E metal 3D printers, securing ultra-large-format laser powder bed fusion capabilities for high-throughput serial production of large metal parts.
This significant investment in additive manufacturing capacity for jet engines underscores the growing adoption of AM for critical defense applications. Beehive's focus on designing engines around AM processes and its rapid scaling demonstrate the technology's potential to drastically reduce lead times and costs compared to traditional methods, aligning with national defense goals for faster production of advanced systems.
Edited by the news editor with AI from the original report — please refer to the original source.