DAYTON, Ohio — A new electric air taxi manufacturing facility is set to launch in Dayton, Ohio.

It’s no secret that Ohio is a state rich in manufacturing, innovation and aerospace science.

What You Need To Know

  • Joby Aviation plans to build electric air taxi production plant in Dayton

  • The new business venture expected to create 2,000 jobs

  • The company CEO said they are looking to hire soon

After years of work and planning, this new venture is expected to bring 2,000 jobs to the Dayton region.

From aviation to manufacturing, the sky is the limit, and it’s changing the way we get there.

“The Wright brothers made the impossible possible. They opened the skies for all of us, and they did it right here in Dayton,” said Joby Aviation Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt during Monday morning’s news conference and official announcement.

A the foot of Hawthorn Hill, the home of Orville Wright, California-based company Joby Aviation made a commitment to Ohio.

“Today we are announcing that we intend to build on that legacy by building a manufacturing facility for our own revolutionary aircraft right here in Dayton,” said Bevirt.

Joby Aviation plans to build a facility at a 140-acre site at Dayton International Airport.

That location has the potential to build up to 2 million square feet of manufacturing facilities.

Inside, the workers will build, test, and fly the aircraft.

“This is an aircraft that can take-off and land vertically, then it transitions and it flys on the wing. It’s all-electric and because it’s all-electric, it’s dramatically quieter and it’s zero emissions,” said Bevirt as he described the air taxi.

The air taxis will be used like ride-share.

They can accommodate a pilot and four passengers and can go up to 200 miles per hour over a 100-mile range.

“Sometimes you need to see, feel, experience our state firsthand to truly believe in the people of Ohio and our capabilities. Ohio of course is where visionaries like the Wright brothers and now Joby find success to literally change the world,” said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

The goal is to have vertiports, or designated spaces to take-off and land, located in different communities.

As aerial ride-sharing networks grow in popularity around the country and the world, this partnership lightweights the Ohio workforce.

“We launched a website, JobyinOhio.com, since this morning we received hundreds of applications,” Bevirt said.

From pilots to maintenance staff, Joby is looking to hire in the near future.

“They look at this as a great place to live, a great place to raise family, but also the assets that we have here and the fact that Ohioans, we are a manufacturing state, we’re an aerospace state, and making this flying taxi here in Ohio makes sense,” DeWine said.

Joby Aviation has been flying full-scale prototypes since 2017.

The company will invest $500 million into the 140-acre site at Dayton International Airport and plans to produce up to 500 aircraft each year.

Construction is set to start next year with the facility producing the electric air taxis by 2025.