Cirrus Aircraft celebrates Innovation Center grand opening

Cirrus Aircraft announced the grand opening of its Innovation Center located at its headquarters at the Duluth International Airport (KDLH) in Minnesota. The Innovation Center is dedicated to developing the next-generation innovation that supports Cirrus Aircraft’s products and services while preserving the mission they serve and making personal aviation more approachable.

Cirrus Aircraft

Cirrus Aircraft has provided significant investment to transform the 189,000ft² building on 39 acres into a state-of-the-art Innovation Center. The facility includes a larger, more capable Material and Processes Lab, a new Integration Test Lab, an upgraded Advanced Design & Development Lab, and new environmental equipment and testing capabilities as well as significant floor space increase for development and testing. Additionally, the Innovation Center features flexible and collaborative workspaces and amenities to provide an optimal team environment.

“These new facilities and capabilities enable our engineers, technicians, and researchers to more rapidly design, develop, and certify our next generation of Cirrus products in a connected, synergetic environment,” said Ken Harness, senior vice president of Product Development of Cirrus Aircraft.

“The Innovation Center is an incredible company milestone that supports the future development and endeavors of Cirrus Aircraft product development,” said Zean Nielsen, CEO of Cirrus Aircraft. “We are continuing to invest in the company and the City of Duluth with the Innovation Center opening. We have worked closely with our partners to renovate the building and hire more engineers and technicians to join the new facility in Duluth.”

More than 30 engineers and technicians have been added since 2022, now exceeding 300 people at the Innovation Center.

Cirrus Aircraft is hiring.

Cirrus Aircraft is the maker of the SR Series piston aircraft and the Vision Jet, a single-engine Personal Jet, and the recipient of the Robert J. Collier Trophy. Founded in 1984, the company has redefined aviation performance, comfort, and safety with innovations like the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) – the first FAA-certified whole-airframe parachute safety system included as standard equipment on an aircraft. The company has seven locations in the United States, including Duluth, Minnesota; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Greater Dallas, Texas; Greater Phoenix, Arizona; Greater Orlando, Florida; Knoxville, Tennessee and Benton Harbor, Michigan.