Saab announces a new site for advanced manufacturing and production in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America. The site will be located at the Purdue University-affiliated Discovery Park District. Saab intends to invest US$ 37 million over the coming years from 2020.

The initial focus for the site will be aeronautical engineering; producing major structural sections and final assembly of the Saab parts of the T-X advanced jet trainer, developed by Boeing and Saab for the United States Air Force. Saab has entered into a partnership with the Purdue University, and through this intends to expand its U.S. based Research and Development within possible areas such as sensor systems, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.

Today’s announcement was presented at a ceremony held at Purdue University Airport in West Lafayette together with State of Indiana Governor Eric J Holcomb, Purdue University President Mitch Daniels and Saab President and CEO Håkan Buskhe.

“This is a historic moment for Saab. After careful consideration, we have chosen West Lafayette, thanks to the visionary leadership of both the State of Indiana and the world-leading Purdue University. Today’s announcement is a part of our growth strategy in the United States, and deepens our relationship with the U.S. customer. We see great possibilities here for this facility and our partnerships”, says Saab President and CEO Håkan Buskhe.

Construction of the new site is expected to begin in 2020. Hiring of local employees will also start during 2020 and Saab will initially create up to 300 new full-time positions for Indiana resident employees at the site.

With its North American headquarters in Syracuse, New York, this facility will mean Saab has U.S.-based business units in a total of five states.