JetZero Breaks Ground on First Aircraft Factory in Greensboro, NC
JetZero today broke ground on its first manufacturing and final assembly campus, an 8 million square foot factory on more than 600 acres in Greensboro, North Carolina. The project, supported by the largest ever State-level incentive package for any startup of any industry, will be home to production of JetZero’s next-generation aircraft and will create 14,500 jobs over the next 10 years.
JetZero will make the Z4 in Greensboro. Designed for the unserved commercial middle market, with 250 passenger capacity on a range of up to 5,000 nautical miles, the Z4 will be up to 50 percent more fuel efficient with an elevated passenger experience and will readily fit into today’s airport infrastructure.
“Today, a great new chapter in North Carolina’s storied history of flight is taking off,” said Governor Josh Stein. “JetZero’s decision to build here is a vote of confidence in North Carolina’s workforce, our universities and community colleges, and our long aerospace tradition. These 14,500 jobs and $4.7 billion in investment will transform the triad region for generations. North Carolina is not only First in Flight, we are the future of flight, too.”
“It should come as no surprise that JetZero is breaking ground here in North Carolina – the first in flight state,” said Tom O’Leary, CEO and co-founder of JetZero. “North Carolina has a vision for its future as a global aerospace hub, and JetZero shares that vision. We believe the time has come for an all-wing airplane, to support the industry’s need for more efficient airplanes that also deliver an incredible experience. We intend to reshape aviation, from right here in North Carolina.”
JetZero is also designing military variants of the Z4, including an aerial refueler and transport aircraft. As a refueler, the all-wing design allows for twice the range or twice the payload to support U.S. air power.
With America’s 250th birthday just three weeks away, the timing of today’s groundbreaking carries special meaning. As the nation celebrates a quarter millennium of innovation and independence, JetZero’s commitment to reinventing how aircraft are designed and built stands as a testament to that same pioneering spirit, carrying American aviation boldly into the next century.
Digital-First, AI-Native Smart Factory
JetZero’s Greensboro plant will be designed using advanced digital and AI native platforms developed in collaboration with Siemens and Deloitte. These platforms and tools allow engineers to build a complete digital twin of the factory before any concrete is poured — testing how machines, people, and materials will move through the building, and making changes on a screen rather than on a job site. That flexibility is rare in aerospace manufacturing and will make the Greensboro facility the most efficient and adaptable plant of its kind anywhere in the world.
“Our partnership with JetZero demonstrates how cutting-edge industrial technology can help reindustrialize America,” said Ann Fairchild, President and CEO, Siemens USA. “Our digital twins help bring the next generation of manufacturing facilities to life faster and with greater confidence. We’re proud to help JetZero build a world-class aerospace facility that will create thousands of jobs and strengthen North Carolina’s position as the next great U.S. aerospace hub.”
“By pairing advanced AI and digital tools with our deep operational and industry experience, we’re helping JetZero set a new standard for manufacturing speed, quality, and scale,” Kelly Herod, chief client officer, Deloitte. “Our work with JetZero brings automation and AI together with data strategies informed by our experience at The Smart Factory by Deloitte @ Wichita—connecting design, the shop floor, and the workforce.”
“The Megasite and Selectsite Readiness programs have already been successful in helping attract new jobs and investment to North Carolina,” said Garrett Wyckoff, Product Development Program Manager for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC). “These two projects in Edgecombe and Lenoir counties are great examples of local governments using state resources to strengthen their competitiveness for new industry.”
Construction in Greensboro begins immediately, with hiring expected to ramp in phases over the next decade as the facility comes online.
