Innovative Aerosystems recently expanded its Exton flight controls plant and now plans on growing its local workforce even further, building on the increase that has already doubled staffing to 200 over the last three years, writes Joseph N. DiStefano for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The company employs engineers, technicians, and other specialists who design, build, and sell cockpit computers, flight controls, navigation instruments, and software used by major jet makers and operators, including Boeing and Lockheed.
It now plans to hire 100 additional employees to develop self-flying aircraft systems intended to modernize current air fleets.
“The company that is leading autonomous flight is here in Pennsylvania,” said Glen R. Bressner, a Bethlehem-based venture capitalist who chairs the company’s board. “Not in Silicon Valley.”
Innovative Aerosystems, established in 1988, is among the domestic employers that are embracing this shift toward renewed U.S. manufacturing. The company is actively moving overseas industrial production back to the United States, with the Exton plant producing nearly all of its parts except for mass-produced aluminum components handled by Chester County machine shops.
The company is also capitalizing on rising Defense Department spending on autonomous weapons, along with the continued surge in civilian air travel worldwide.
Read more about Innovative Aerosystems growing the local workforce in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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