Above: the Las Americas Industrial Park

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Aerospace and defence firm Honeywell Aerospace is expanding its operations in Puerto Rico, the government announced this week.

The company is planning to build a second plant on the island, with an estimated investment of $24 million. The new plant could create as many as 310 jobs within 36 months, according to the office of Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla.

It’s the latest positive sign for a growing aviation and aerospace sector in Puerto Rico that has seen the arrival of Lufthansa Technik and Seaborne Airlines in recent months.

“When this company came seven years ago and established offices in Mayaguez to provide consulting services in engineering design, it was so successful that it soon had to move its operations to a larger plant in the neighbouring town of Aguadilla,” Padilla said.

The new plant, which will be located in the Las Americas Technology Park in Moca, will feature a laboratory for electromagnetic and environmental testing, along with office space, according to the Governor.

“Not only are we diversifying our industrial base, we are inserting Puerto Rico decisively in the aeronautics industry,” the Governor said. “It recognizes the immense bank of professional and talent bank that Puerto Rico offers. It creates opportunities for our young professionals to stay here in their land.”