Collins Aerospace Opens Additive Manufacturing Center

Collins Aerospace, a company in intelligent solutions for the aerospace and defense industries, has opened a new additive manufacturing center and expanded its maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capabilities at its Monroe, NC, campus. In 2021, the company completed a $30 million expansion of the site, and it has since invested an additional $15 million as part of the Monroe City Council and Union County Board of Commissioners’ MAGNET100 economic development incentive program.

Collins’ new additive manufacturing facility in Monroe has two 3D printers, with plans to add more in the future. The new facility will complement the company’s existing global network of additive manufacturing centers in Iowa, Minnesota and Singapore, as well as additive research centers in Connecticut and Poland, to support the next generation of aircraft with new systems and optimized designs.

Collins maintains a global network of 75 MRO sites to serve its global customer base as a provider of MRO services for aircraft systems. Collins’ 160,000-sq.-ft. Monroe MRO facility, which opened in 2004, serves more than 300 customers in the aerospace and defense industries. The facility repairs over 6,500 distinct part numbers for commercial and military aircraft, including actuation systems, helicopter rescue hoists and air management systems, as well as providing aircraft-on-the-ground services.

Collins has invested in the site, adding new advanced manufacturing equipment to streamline operations, improve quality control and increase employee safety. Collins has also expanded Monroe’s workforce, hiring more than 70 new employees in the last year and continuing to hire for additional positions.

Collins Aerospace is a Raytheon Technologies Corp. unit.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.