Aircraft manufacturer Cirrus is building a $12.7 million, 68,000-square-foot, painting and finishing facility at Duluth Airport Industrial Park, near the company’s existing operations, that will create 150 new jobs in Minnesota.

According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the expansion is being driven by growing customer demand for the company’s aircraft, including the new $2 million Vision SF50 jet, which Cirrus expects to begin delivering in the second half of the year. The company has firm orders for more than 550 of the single-engine personal jets.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development is supporting the project with a $4 million loan from the Minnesota Investment Fund. The loan will be forgiven if the company meets its hiring and investment commitments. Total expansion costs will be nearly $16 million, including the new building, infrastructure and equipment.

“The development of Cirrus Aircraft is a quintessential Minnesota story. Like many Minnesota entrepreneurs, the Klapmeier brothers employed ‘How can we do this better?’ thinking – before building their first airplane in their parents’ barn. Today, Cirrus employs 675 people in Duluth and is an industry leader,” said Lt. Governor Tina Smith. “This Minnesota Investment Fund grant will help Cirrus bring its one-of-kind single-engine jet to market, while creating 150 good new jobs in Duluth.”

“The completion center is another chapter in the remarkable Cirrus success story,” said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben. “We are fortunate to have a company of this caliber in Minnesota and thankful for their commitment to Duluth and the state.”