By Jheri Hardaway
Staff Writer
Greensboro, NC - On Monday, June 15, JetZero officially broke ground on an 8-million-square-foot aircraft manufacturing facility. Greensboro, North Carolina, the company has stated this, “is where the future of aviation gets built.” This is the largest manufacturing investment in the state's history, the first greenfield large-aircraft production facility built in the United States in a generation, and the foundation for the first clean-sheet American commercial aircraft in 15 years. The monumental ceremony brought together federal procurement officials, airline executives, military planners, and state leaders to celebrate a once-in-a-generation leap in aviation history.
JetZero was founded in 2021 by aviation legend Mark Page and startup veteran Tom O’Leary, in Long Beach, California. In early 2024, the company expanded into a 285,000-square-foot, seven-building headquarters, home to their business operations, design team, cabin lab, fabrication shop, scale model program, and aero labs, with room for continued growth. JetZero teammates work remotely in support of the program throughout the United States, near suppliers, customers, and partners. This flexibility gives JetZero access to top talent worldwide, reinforcing its competitive edge.
The groundbreaking took place on hallowed ground that looks drastically different from what it did just over a decade ago. During the ceremony, local officials recalled when the sprawling site was an 18-hole golf course. The expansion across the highway required a massive airplane taxiway bridge, championing a bold, growth mindset setting the Piedmont Triad International (PTI) Airport apart during JetZero’s nationwide site search.
The centerpiece of JetZero's mission is the Z4, a revolutionary Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft. Unlike traditional legacy "tube and wing" commercial airliners that have dominated the skies since the 1950s, the BWB design fuses the airplane's fuselage and wing into a single, seamless structure. While engineers and academics at NASA have studied the concept for over three decades, investing more than $1 billion to mature the technology, JetZero is taking it from research to commercial reality. The result is a game-changing platform that is 50% more fuel efficient than current airliners, drastically lowering carbon emissions and reducing operational costs for commercial airlines.
Beyond commercial air travel, federal leaders see the Z4 as a national security imperative. Speaking at the event, Dr. Kevin Rhodes, Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, and representatives from the U.S. Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit highlighted the aircraft's military capabilities. By significantly expanding the distance an aircraft can travel on a single tank of fuel, the Z4 acts as a vital force multiplier capable of overcoming logistical hurdles in global operations.
The Greensboro facility will be unlike any other aircraft assembly plant on Earth, serving as a human-centered global headquarters and epicenter for digital manufacturing. JetZero CEO Tom O’Leary announced partnerships with Siemens, Deloitte, AWS, and NVIDIA to construct a "digital twin" of the entire factory inside an omniverse. This allows engineers to run millions of virtual manufacturing simulations to optimize assembly, workflow, and safety systems before the first physical concrete is poured or the first piece of hardware is touched. The FAA Administrator spoke about their commitment to working hand-in-hand with JetZero to digitize the formal certification process, paving a smooth path from type certification to active production.
The massive project serves as a masterclass in collaboration across federal, state, and local entities. Governor Josh Stein praised the regional economic strategy, emphasizing that North Carolina's status as a top-tier state for business rests heavily on its unmatched pipeline for workforce development. To prepare citizens for these high-paying advanced roles, the state has invested heavily in the University of North Carolina system (notably NC A&T, NC State, and UNC Charlotte) and the NC Community College System. Furthermore, JetZero has joined the state's workforce initiative to train 25,000 new electrical workers over the next decade.
While an infrastructure delay due to the missing state budget pushed the initial timeline for certain roles from 2027 to 2028, the excitement on the ground remains absolute. Reflecting on the state's broader momentum, North Carolina Representative Amber Baker noted, "It's all about teamwork, and our goal here is to acknowledge as many of the people who came together to team with JetZero. This is an exciting milestone for Guilford County, proving that when we invest in our workforce and our communities, North Carolina leads the nation."
For Alaska Airlines, JetZero’s first commercial airline investor and partner, the groundbreaking represents a deep historical symmetry. Company representatives drew parallels to Boeing's modest 1909 "Red Barn" factory in Seattle, reminding the audience that true breakthroughs arrive rarely in aviation.
The ceremony occurred during a historic 12-hour sports and culture wave for the state, directly following the Carolina Hurricanes' clinching the Stanley Cup.
Exactly 123 years after the Wright Brothers achieved the first powered flight in Kitty Hawk, the next great evolutionary leap in flight has returned to its native soil. Decades from now, the global aviation community won't look back at this Greensboro site as a mere factory—they will look back at it as the birthplace of the future of flight.
