KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A new industry announced their expansion into Knox County, bringing one of the first large-scale technological startups to our area.
In a ceremonial ribbon cutting on Friday, Beehive Industries officially launched their new additive manufacturing facility in West Knoxville.
“It shows kind of a lot of culmination and a lot of growth, especially as we are expanding our operations and really looking to transform our company more from a traditional parts supplier, to a focused product supplies with our propulsion products,” said president of additive sales, Jonaaron Jones.
He added that as a University of Tennessee graduate, he is excited to bring the company here.
The company designs and develops 3D printed jet engines for aircraft like drones, partnering with defense, aerospace, and related industries.
They were joined at the ribbon cutting by Congressman Tim Burchett, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, officials from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Knoxville Chamber to celebrate their opening.
According to Knoxville Chamber, this is the third big economic development announcement in Knoxville in the last month. HVAC manufacturer Greenheck Group announced it will invest $300 million to build a corporate campus in Knoxville. Electric vehicle charging equipment producer VOITAS is bringing its North American headquarters to Knoxville.
“I think one, it brings a lot of high technology well-paying jobs in the area. It brings the manufacturing base it also enriches collaboration with academic institutions like University of Tennessee, also with research institutions like Oak Ridge National Lab,” said Chief Product Officer Gordie Follin. “As we grow and succeed, I think it creates more opportunities for collaboration with the rest of the Knoxville infrastructure as well.”
Being the only company of its kind in Knoxville, it brings 150 high technology manufacturing and engineering jobs to the area, allowing graduates and those in the industry to stay in Knoxville.
“The fact that they don’t have to go to Atlanta or New York or any places to find a high-tech type job is very encouraging and it says a lot about this community and our community and the state of Tennessee,” said Representative Burchett.
Burchett noted that their clientele will most likely be the U.S. Department of Defense, and Follin agreed, stating the demand for this type of manufacturing and engineering is growing.
“The US military has forecasted a need for more than 100,000 of these over the next decade,” said Follin. “Right now, there is no capacity in the industry to do that, so companies like us that can scale up very rapidly are really critical for national defense to be able to serve that need.”
According to Beehive Industries, their 60,000-square-foot facility represents $4 million of capital investment, and they look forward to creating additional jobs in manufacturing and engineering.
