Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer

Collins Aerospace breaks ground on $14 million expansion of manufacturing center in West Des Moines

July 25, 2022

Collins Aerospace broke ground last week on a $14 million expansion of its additive manufacturing center in West Des Moines.

The 9,000-square-foot expansion will allow Collins to make room for more 3D metal printers, in addition to the three it already has onsite. The first new printer will have eight times the build volume of the existing printers and Collins expects it to be fully operational in late 2023.

Collins’ 41,000-square-foot West Des Moines produces fuel nozzles for commercial and military aircraft. The company will use the new machines to enhance current production capabilities and expand the portfolio of metals it can use to additively produce engine components at the site.

“With this expansion, we will significantly increase our additive manufacturing capacity and enhance our ability to produce more parts faster for our airframe and engine customers,” said Renee Begley, West Des Moines site lead for Collins Aerospace. “Compared to traditional manufacturing, additive offers several key benefits as the optimized designs not only reduce cost but can also reduce delivery lead times dramatically. Additive also allows us to produce parts that are much lighter, enabling reduced aircraft fuel consumption and reduced carbon emissions—a key to more sustainable flight.”

Additive manufacturing is a large area of focus for Collins. In June, the company opened a new additive manufacturing center at its campus in Monroe, North Carolina. Collins maintains a global network of additive production centers in Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina and Singapore, and an additive research center in Connecticut.

Collins Aerospace breaks ground on $14 million expansion of manufacturing center in West Des Moines | Clay & Milk

A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.

This Pop-up Is Included in the Theme

Best Choice for Creatives