Collins Aerospace to Add 14,000-Sq-Ft Expansion at West Des Moines Engine Components Facility

Collins Aerospace, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, announced on September 29, 2026, a 14,000-square-foot expansion of its West Des Moines, Iowa manufacturing facility. The multi-million-dollar investment is intended to increase capacity to meet growing demand across commercial and military aviation programs.

The facility specializes in advanced fuel distribution systems, including original equipment components, spare parts, and maintenance, repair and overhaul services. It currently ships more than 25,000 engine nozzles per month and operates as an FAA-certified Part 145 repair station specializing in engine nozzle systems and powerplant accessories. "The investment at our West Des Moines site demonstrates our commitment to advancing commercial and military aviation through our innovative fuel-distribution technology," said James Bagg, vice president and general manager of Engine Control Systems at Collins Aerospace. "This expansion helps us enhance delivery performance, improve manufacturing capabilities and add jobs to meet growing customer demand."

The West Des Moines operation currently employs approximately 300 full-time employees. Collins Aerospace plans to add additional roles by the end of 2026, with continued hiring expected into 2027 to support long-term program growth. Construction on the expanded facility is scheduled to begin in late September 2026, with completion expected by mid-2027. The announcement follows a previous $14 million, 9,000-square-foot expansion completed in 2023 at the same Delavan Drive facility, which increased additive manufacturing capacity using metal 3D printers; that site has since received National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program certification for additive manufacturing.

This is a case of an established supplier expanding an existing specialized site rather than building new capacity from scratch, layering a second expansion onto the same Delavan Drive location within a few years. Engine nozzle and fuel-distribution manufacturing depends on certified processes and accredited additive-manufacturing capability, so adding floor space at a site that already holds Part 145 and NADCAP accreditation lets output scale without re-establishing qualification from zero.

Hiring tied to the expansion is phased across two windows, with additional roles targeted by the end of 2026 and further hiring into 2027, which ties workforce growth to the construction timeline rather than to the announcement date itself. Completion of the expanded facility, expected by mid-2027, is the next dated milestone that would confirm whether the added capacity is translating into higher monthly nozzle shipment volumes beyond the current 25,000-per-month figure.