Sponsored By. Cirrus Aircraft's plant in Grand Forks is on the hunt for workers as the Duluth-based company prepares to roll out a new personal jet next year. Cirrus hopes to add 50 to technicians at its plant in the Grand Forks Industrial Park.
The company is in the final stages of getting federal certification ahead of the Vision SF50 jet hitting the market next year, said Brandon Pavlish, executive director of Cirrus' Grand Forks operations. The manufacturer has tried to attract applicants through the radio, newspaper ads, television, movie theater screens and on-site job fairs, Pavlish said. The Grand Forks plant currently employs about people. Bill King, Cirrus' vice president of business development, said trying to find more workers in Grand Forks and Duluth has been "hugely difficult" because of low unemployment in both areas.
Cirrus' expected workforce growth comes as its neighbor LM Wind Power looks to add around employees to its wind turbine blade plant. Those two employers' plans appear to contrast the state of North Dakota's manufacturing sector. The general aviation industry, meanwhile, has been slowly recovering from the recession that saw total plane shipments get cut roughly in half.
After posting shipments in and dropping to two years later, Cirrus climbed to in , according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Cirrus already received more than orders for the new jet, the Duluth News-Tribune reported in August. Pavlish said Cirrus is also helping launch a plane for another company, Icon Aircraft. That company's A5 light sport plane can be hauled on a trailer down the highway and launched on the water.
Cirrus is building the composite parts for the A5 before they're shipped to California, Pavlish said. Similarly, the Cirrus plant in Grand Forks will build the composite parts such as the cabin and wing for the Vision jet before they go to Duluth for final assembly. Pavlish said the new jet won't require an expansion of its existing facility.
