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Cirrus Aircraft celebrated the grand opening of its Innovation Center at its headquarters at the Duluth International Airport (DLH) in Minnesota on Tuesday. The Innovation Center will focus on the development of the next generation of innovation to support Cirrus Aircraft products and services while preserving a mission to serve and make personal aviation more approachable.
The project took a serious investment to transform the 189,000-square-foot building on 39 acres into a modern Innovation Center. The center will have a larger and more capable Material And Processes Lab, a new Integration Test Lab, an upgraded Advanced Design andamp; Development Lab and new environmental equipment and testing capabilities. There will also be a significant increase in the floor space for development and testing. The Innovation Center will have flexible and collaborative workspaces and amenities to provide an optimum environment for the team.
"These new facilities and capabilities enable our engineers, technicians and researchers to more rapidly design, develop and certify our next generation of Cirrus products in a connected, synergetic environment," said Ken Harness, Senior VP of Product Development of Cirrus Aircraft.
Since 2022, more than 30 engineers and technicians have been added and there are now over 300 people at the Innovation Center.
"The Innovation Center is an incredible company milestone that supports the future development and endeavors of Cirrus Aircraft product development," Cirrus Aircraft CEO Zean Nielsen said. "We are continuing to invest in the company and the City of Duluth with the Innovation Center opening. We have worked closely with our partners to renovate the building and hire more engineers and technicians to join the new facility in Duluth."