Nearly three months after opening its Global Innovation Center in Tech Square, Delta Air Lines cut the ribbon on its new Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility on 14th Street in a special ceremony on July 19, 2017.
“We’re really excited about the partnership with Delta,” said Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson. “This facility is a little different. Our students, faculty, staff and researchers will be able to develop products, and it provides Delta an opportunity to collaborate with its partners.”
Made possible by a $3 million gift from the Delta Air Lines Foundation, the facility was designed to be an integrated physical and cyber manufacturing technology testbed as well as a demonstration and teaching facility. The Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF) will be a flagship component of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute as a location where early-stage concepts can go from idea to reality.
“Over the last two years, inspired by insights gained from our close collaboration in manufacturing research with industry partners, faculty members from the schools of Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Interactive Computing came together to define the requirements for a learning and research facility that will provide the foundation for future innovations in digital manufacturing,” said Don McConnell, Georgia Tech’s vice president of Industry Collaboration.
Peterson said the building had been part of the Atlantic Steel plant and before it was converted to house Delta’s AMPF and Boeing’s Manufacturing Development Center, the building had served as a warehouse for Georgia Tech’s Housing department to store and repair furniture for residence halls and on-campus apartments.
“Georgia Tech is a world-class institute, and we’re really blessed to have you in our hometown,” said Gil West, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer for Delta.
Back on May 2, Delta and Georgia Tech held a ribbon cutting for an innovation center called “The Hangar” in Tech Square, which is now home to 20 such innovation centers. The AMPF establishes Georgia Tech as a national leader in advanced manufacturing.
