GE Aviation has opened a new factory to manufacture parts for its GE90 engines at its existing site in Muskegon, Michigan, US.

The GE90 engine is already used to power Boeing’s 777 aircraft.

Around 2,500 GE90 engines are currently in service and have completed more than 67 million flight hours.

Built with a $14.5m investment, the new facility is spanning across 35,000ft.

“The facility represents an investment in advanced manufacturing."

GE has so far recruited 90 new employees for the new facility, which has expanded the company’s presence in Muskegon to 220,000ft².

The company received a $800,000 grant for the expansion from Michigan Economic Development.

The City of Norton Shores has also provided a 50% property tax abatement to GE for a 12-year period.

GE Aviation supply chain general manager John Bowman said: “The new facility in Muskegon is the first of several GE Brilliant Factories being built throughout the world, where machine downtime has been reduced to less than 1%.

“The facility represents an investment in advanced manufacturing, our workforce is constantly adapting and updating their skills for the jobs of tomorrow.”

GE also noted that its factory concept has been developed to link design, engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, distribution and services into a single intelligent system, which collects and analyses data from all the disciplines to make factories smarter and more efficient.