GKN Aerospace Wins 2025 Aerospace Impact Award

Business Facilities honors the company’s groundbreaking Newington expansion and first-of-its-kind 3D-printed aircraft component

Business Facilities announced its 2025 Deal of the Year Award winners — corporate relocation and expansion investment projects that will have a significant positive impact on the economic development of a community.

AdvanceCT and the State of Connecticut were recognized by the publication with the 2025 Aerospace Impact Award for GKN Aerospace’s recently announced expansion of their Newington, Connecticut facility. 

GKN Aerospace, a global leader in advanced aerospace component manufacturing, is set to make a significant impact on Connecticut and revolutionize the global aerospace industry as their expansion adds a production line for a new additively fabricated engine component, notably the first 3-D printed critical aircraft component to be flying in the world. 

Concentrating manufacturing at one facility, along with the 3-D printing process, will cut down the lead time of this component from one year to six weeks. This component was formerly milled from a solid block of titanium — an already expensive material that is becoming even more difficult to obtain due to Russian sanctions — but now through additive manufacturing will significantly reduce the amount of titanium required by approximately 70%, helping to shore up the company’s raw material supply chain.

Company officials anticipate adding about 20 employees at the Newington plant to support the project, taking the head count there to about 170 people.

The project entries submitted by economic development organizations and site selection consultants are evaluated by a panel of judges and Business Facilities editors, with a focus on factors that include capital investment, job creation, innovation, and impact on communities. The complete list of Business Facilities 2025 Deal of the Year and Impact Award winners can be found on their website and will be featured in the January/February 2026 issue.

Learn more about GKN’s industry-changing expansion and the aerospace industry in Connecticut.