ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis region has more than 48,000 skilled workers in Advanced Manufacturing and the region ranks among the top 20 metros for aerospace employment with nearly four times more aerospace manufacturing employees than other similar-sized markets. The bi-state region also ranks first in the nation for on-the-job training programs and third for completed internships helping to contribute to workforce growth to support the number of advanced manufacturing firms in the area. Among the major employers calling the St. Louis region home are General Motors, Boeing, West Star Aviation, True Manufacturing, Evertrak, Emerson, Oasis Berco, Lear, The Greenbrier Companies, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., ICL Group and Scott Air Force Base, with several of those recently or currently expanding their operations.
Boeing, which already has more than 16,000 employees in the bi-state region, is planning a multi-billion expansion to add a one million square-foot advanced aerospace manufacturing facility by St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The company also invested $200 million in a new production facility for its MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling aircraft at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois. An estimated 500 new jobs will be created by the combined investments, and more jobs could follow. The U.S. Air Force announced in March that Boeing has been awarded a contract to design, build and deliver its next-generation fighter aircraft. Known as the F-47, the aircraft contract award further positions the aerospace giant for future growth. While the total contract amount has not been disclosed, the St. Louis Business Journal reports it initially is expected to be worth about $20 billion but could total hundreds of billions of dollars over the next several decades.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. on May 1st announced the finalization of its expanded aircraft completions operations at St. Louis Downtown Airport during a ceremony to inaugurate the new space in Cahokia Heights, Illinois.
“This St. Louis facility expansion is a continuation of our company-wide growth strategy to support the production of Gulfstream’s industry-leading fleet,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream. “It positions our team to further support completions of our next-generation aircraft for customers all over the world as demand for these aircraft continues to grow.”
This expansion represents an investment of more than $30 million and adds to Gulfstream’s St. Louis maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility that opened in 2017 to provide dedicated hangar space and service to support the entire Gulfstream fleet. Gulfstream employs more than 675 team members on-site in St. Louis and encompasses a total facility footprint of 645,013 square feet/59,993 square meters. In support of this growth, Gulfstream also added 200 new jobs. While many of these new positions have been filled, Gulfstream is still actively recruiting and hiring in the St. Louis area for numerous roles in avionics, interior installations, cabinet fabrication and cabinet finishing.
“The St. Louis area is a booming aviation hub filled with skilled and capable talent, and that has played a role in our continued investment in the region,” Burns said.
West Star Aviation, a leading independent MRO provider, recently expanded it facilities at St. Louis Regional Airport in East Alton, Illinois, investing $20 million to increase its footprint at the airport to almost 500,000 sq ft. The new expansion paved the way for the addition of an estimated 60-80 new jobs. In April, West Star Aviation announced the graduation of its second cohort from the West Star Aviation Academy, equipping 22 aspiring Aircraft Maintenance Technicians with the skills necessary to thrive in the aviation industry. Launched in collaboration with Southwestern Illinois College in 2023, the West Star Aviation Academy stands as a benchmark for innovative aviation education.
The St. Louis region also has attracted significant investment from ICL Group, a leading global specialty minerals company that announced last fall that its planned expansion into the North American battery materials market will be built in St. Louis. The company is investing approximately half a billion dollars and creating more than 150 jobs to build a large-scale commercial production plant that will manufacture lithium iron phosphate cathode active material destined for the energy storage and electric vehicle end-markets. The company also celebrated the opening of its new Battery Materials Innovation & Qualification Center at its Carondelet campus in St. Louis in April. The $20M innovation hub is the first facility of its kind in the nation.
One of the St. Louis region’s most anticipated developments in the advanced manufacturing arena is Gateway South, a 100-acre redevelopment south of the Gateway Arch National Park that is being designed to become an innovation district and prefab hub for the building industry. With planned access to cutting-edge resources like the immersive materials library, a 50-foot high-bay prototyping lab and a versatile prototyping yard, Gateway South Industrial Park aims to be the future of construction innovation. The project is envisioned as an intentional community of design and construction leaders and changemakers – a geographic locus for industry advancement akin to Wall Street, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley for their respective sectors. The mixed-use district will offer manufacturers access to railroads, major interstate freeways and low-cost barge shipping. Gateway South plans to be in operation in 2026 with commercial and industrial tenants and will usher recreational and residential tenants in the following years after opening.
The region also is investing heavily in advanced manufacturing education and facilities, including St. Louis Community College’s recently completed $51.8 million Advanced Manufacturing Center in North St. Louis County and Southwestern Illinois College’s $20 million Advanced Manufacturing Academy that opened at its Belleville, Illinois campus last August. Work on another state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing innovation center, AMICSTL, is expected to be completed this summer, and St. Charles Community College will open a $40 million Regional Workforce Innovation Center in the fall.
Mary Lamie, Executive Vice President of Multimodal Enterprises for Bi-State Development and head of the St. Louis Regional Freightway, said the continued investments in St. Louis’s advanced manufacturing sector are largely due to the strength of the area’s existing manufacturing workforce and central location within the country.
“The region is the gateway to global access with excellent freight infrastructure, unparalleled transportation access, and shovel-ready industrial real estate availability,” said Lamie. “With a significant workforce concentration in aerospace, automotive, and machinery and equipment manufacturing, the region has the existing labor pool needed to support growing companies seeking a sustainable location to grow their business.”
Advanced Manufacturing is one of four targeted industries in which the St. Louis region has noteworthy competitive advantages over peer cities in the Midwest or other regions nationwide – the other three being Metals, Food & AgTech, and Chemicals. Those advantages are reflected in not only the strength of the available workforce and the fact that the productivity of the region’s manufacturing workforce is 15% greater than the national average, but also in the global access the region offers. St. Louis, Missouri, is the most strategic location on the Mississippi River, served by all six Class I railroads, four interstates with no tolls, along with two international airports, all of which support the region’s role as a global logistics hub. For more information, visit www.thefreightway.com.
About St. Louis Regional Freightway
A Bi-State Development enterprise, the St. Louis Regional Freightway is a regional freight district and comprehensive authority for freight operations and opportunities within eight counties in southwestern Illinois and eastern Missouri, which comprise the St. Louis metropolitan area. Public sector and private industry businesses are partnering with the St. Louis Regional Freightway to establish the bi-state region as one of the premier multimodal freight hubs and distribution centers in the United States through marketing and advocacy for infrastructure development that supports the movement of freight. To learn more, visit thefreightway.com.
