110 Business View Magazine - October 2016
because they’re nearing FAA (Federal Aviation Author-
ity) certification for a new jet called the ‘Vision,’ or ‘V-
Jet.’ And they already have 600 orders,” she adds. “In-
dividuals and companies have already put 10 percent
down on a $1.9 million purchase, plus other bells and
whistles, which would drive up the cost. So, that’s very
exciting for us to know that growth is coming down the
pipeline. This is a company that continues to be ex-
panding its production space and their research and
development facilities within the City of Duluth.”
The Cirrus campus is located at the Duluth Interna-
tional Airport, and according to Rand, the company
just made a $13 million investment in a new 68,000
square foot, completion facility slated for occupation
by year’s end. “And that’s about the time they expect
that they’ll get their FAA certification on the jet,” she
says. “Within the next two years, they’ve committed to
adding an additional 150 jobs. So, we’re really excited
about that job creation.”
While Cirrus’ investment is its own, Rand says that
the city did support the company with needed infra-
structure improvements and facilitation services. “For
example, they needed a very substantially larger gas
main for their completion center building and the paint
booths that will go into it,” she explains. The city also
assisted the company with the financing of the build-
ing, itself, by bonding for part of the note. It also se-
cured some state grants to support the area’s further
economic development. “It’s important to realize that
Cirrus drives this aviation cluster,” Rand states, em-
phatically. “There are a lot of suppliers located in town
that will continue to expand with this new jet product.
We have the folks that manufacture aviation seats,
harnesses, machine and tool shops – the list goes on
and on.”
Keith Hamre is Duluth’s Director of Planning and Con-
struction Services. He talks about two big projects on
his agenda: one concerns regional rail transportation
