Vermont-based electric aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologies recently unveiled a nearly 200,000-square-foot production facility in South Burlington. Beta says the expansion will bring hundreds of new jobs to Vermont in the coming years.
Kyle Clark, the CEO and founder of Beta Technologies, says the company started six years ago and now has two commercially viable electric aircraft with about 600 orders waiting to be filled, which the new facility will enable them to do.
“It’s in a collaborative, thoughtful way. And that’s how this business has grown from just eight people five years ago, a year after we started, to almost 600 people now with 400 of them in Vermont,” Clark said.
“I believe Beta will be as important to Vermont in the coming years-- mark my words-- as IBM was for decades,” said Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont.
“This is amazing and it was all done here,” former Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy said.
“We are leading the world in helping to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel and save the planet-- that’s no small thing,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.
The aircraft are destined for customers in a variety of industries, including cargo, medical, defense and passenger transportation.
At 188,500 square feet, Beta says this is the first large-scale manufacturing facility for electric aircraft in the country. Beta says it hopes to ramp up the production line in the next few months. The company expects to reach full production capacity, producing about 300 aircraft per year, by 2027.