Beehive Industries bets $70 million on Southwest Ohio to mass-produce 3D-printed jet engines
Beehive Industries is scaling 3D-printed jet engine production for military drones in Southwest Ohio, targeting 8,000+ units annually. Backed by a $29.7M Air Force contract, the initiative creates over 200 jobs while compressing defense manufacturing timelines from years to months.
As the Pentagon races to fix fragile supply chains and rebuild America’s defense industrial base, a Colorado-born defense tech startup is betting big on Southwest Ohio to solve one of military aviation’s hardest problems: building jet engines at scale.
Beehive Industries announced Tuesday at the Farnborough International Airshow that it will invest $70 million and create more than 200 high-skilled jobs in Southwest Ohio. The expansion will supercharge production of its additively manufactured jet engines designed specifically for uncrewed defense systems.
The announcement was made jointly by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Beehive executives, JobsOhio, and REDI Cincinnati.
The big picture
Jet propulsion has historically been the slowest, most capital-intensive bottleneck in military procurement. By designing engines explicitly for 3D printing and consolidating design, printing, precision machining, and assembly into a single domestic footprint, Beehive is compressing engine development timelines from years down to months.
By the numbers
- $70 million: Total capital investment coming to Southwest Ohio.
- 200+: High-skilled aerospace and advanced manufacturing jobs being created.
- 8,000+: Target annual production capacity for 3D-printed jet engines.
- $29.7 million: U.S. Air Force contract backing Beehive’s Frenzy™ engine family.
- 2: Cincinnati-area precision machine shops acquired (Able Tool Corporation and Planet Products Corporation) to form Beehive's Production Machining Center of Excellence.
- Record expansion: Largest publicly disclosed order of EOS metal 3D printers to double additive capacity.
Scaling up in Ohio
The project builds on rapid operational momentum for the company as its proprietary technology transitions into full-scale production:
- Full-Rate Production: Beehive's Frenzy™ engine family is officially moving into full-rate production, supported by a $29.7 million Air Force contract.
- Vertical Integration: The company operates an end-to-end U.S. supply chain, keeping metal printing, precision machining, and testing in-house to bypass external supply disruptions.
“This investment puts our state at the forefront of building the engines our military needs, and we'll be doing it faster than anyone thought possible," DeWine said.
Why Southwest Ohio won the deal
Beehive leadership cited the region’s long-standing aerospace heritage and specialized precision manufacturing workforce as the deciding factors. Southwest Ohio currently anchors a regional aerospace ecosystem valued at over $6 billion.
“Our success is fundamentally tied to the caliber of the workforce we are building in Southwest Ohio,” said Gordie Follin, chief product officer at Beehive Industries.
Policy & incentives
The expansion will pursue a Job Creation Tax Credit from the Ohio Department of Development. JobsOhio also plans to provide performance-based assistance, with specific terms to be disclosed once final agreements are completed.
Economic leaders framed the deal as a major validation of the statewide “Team Ohio” development framework, which focuses on pre-certified, construction-ready sites and expedited permitting.
“Beehive is doing exactly the kind of advanced, mission-critical manufacturing that defines Ohio's aerospace and defense advantage — and doing it at the speed the customer requires,” said J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO of JobsOhio.
