Eastern among Bay's top 2017 stories

BAY COUNTY, Fla. – In 2019, Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City will begin construction on the first of nine Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutters, which brings with it an anticipation of more than 1,000 jobs to the region. In 2020, Tyndall Air Force Base will increase by almost 33 percent with an additional 1,600 airmen to support a new MQ-9 Reaper drone wing if the base passes muster on a mandatory Environment Impact Study. By the end of this year, the international aerospace manufacturing company GKN Aerospace will have brought 100 new jobs to the region. All of these projects are expected to bring spin-off businesses. “These kinds of initiatives are game-changers,” said Bay County Economic Development Alliance President Becca Hardin. “It’s an anomaly to have three projects like this at once,” she said. “People work their whole careers and don’t have one project. These projects are life-changing.” GKN’s move to a new facility on Panama City Beach was announced last February. In May, legislation to start spending BP oil spill money through Triumph Gulf Coast was passed. The Reaper wing was announced in November. Eastern Shipbuilding’s project hit the news in September 2016, and continued to bring attention to NW Florida. These were among the culminations of 2017. (Source: News Herald 01/04/18) The Coast Guard awarded Eastern Shipbuilding with a detail design contract for the OPCs in September 2016; and a Long Lead Time Materials (LLTM) award one year later. Construction is planned to begin in FY 2018. Delivery of the lead OPC is planned for FY-21.GKN Aerospace is a tier one supplier of aerostructures, engine products and systems and electrical wiring systems to the global aerospace industry. The Worcestershire, England-based firm has manufacturing facilities in 14 countries and serve more than 90 percent of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers. GKN’s technologies are used in aircraft ranging from the most-used single aisle aircraft to business jets, and the world’s advanced 5th generation fighter aircraft, according to its website.