The project will bring an investment of more than $500 million through 2030 at a site located at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Guilford County.
Boom Supersonic is redefining commercial air travel by bringing sustainable, supersonic flight to the skies. Boom’s historic commercial airliner, Overture, is designed and committed to industry-leading standards of speed, safety, and sustainability.
Overture will be net-zero carbon, capable of flying on 100% sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) at twice the speed of today’s fastest passenger jets. Overture has garnered significant commercial interest, including orders and options from United Airlines and Japan Airlines as well as contracts with the U.S. Air Force for government applications.
Named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2021, the Boom XB-1 demonstrator aircraft rolled out in 2020, and its carbon neutral flight test program is underway. The company’s manufacturing plant in North Carolina, called the Overture Superfactory at Piedmont Triad International Airport, will house the company’s first final assembly line, test facility, and customer delivery center.
The project from Boom Technology, Inc., operating as Boom Supersonic, will be facilitated, in part, by a High-Yield Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee, the first JDIG of this classification ever awarded.
Boom’s project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by at least $32.3 billion over 20 years, the time period when the grant could be active. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the 1,761 new jobs, and accounting for a company investment of $500 million, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $87.2 million, paid over a time period of 20 years.
Like all grants from the JDIG program, any state payments only occur following performance verification each year by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.
Salaries for the new jobs will vary by position, but taken together will average $68,792, increasing the regional payroll by more than $120 million every year. The Guilford County average annual wage stands currently at $53,994. ■