$159M in tax breaks offered to new Springfield-area company

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(The Center Square) – An Ohio state board approved up to $159 million in state tax credits over the next three decades for a company that plans to make hybrid-electric “short-takeoff” airplanes in Springfield.

The company, Electraaero, Inc. plans to make nine-passenger planes at a factory next to Springfield Buckley-Municipal Airport, according to a news release. The planes will be able to take off and land in just 150-feet, according to the company.

The plant will be an $850 million investment that will create 1,975 jobs, according to the company.

Ohio’s Job Creation Tax Credit program is performance-based credit, calculated on verified jobs created and new payroll tax generated, Mason Waldvogel, chief communications officer for Ohio Department of Development told The Center Square.

A skilled workforce was one of major factors in Electraaero’s decision to build the plant in Springfield, James Stewart, senior vice president of product development, told The Center Square.

“The Dayton-Springfield region has one of the country’s deepest concentrations of aerospace, defense and advanced manufacturing talent, supported by the presence of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence and a growing advanced air mobility ecosystem,” Stewart said. “For Electra, that existing talent base gives us a strong foundation as we scale production of the EL9 Ultra Short and create nearly 2,000 new jobs in the region.”

Springfield has deep roots in aviation history,Gov. Mike Dewine, said earlier this summer as he worked to recruit the company.

“Ohio is where flight began, and the Dayton-Springfield area has become the national epicenter for advanced air mobility – the place where the next generation of aircraft is being designed, tested, and now built at scale,” the governor said. “Electra's decision to bring nearly 2,000 new jobs to Springfield will be transformative for Clark County, demonstrating Ohio’s unique ability to lead America into aviation's next era.”