Tailwind Technologies subsidiary Hartzell Engine Technologies has broken ground on a new 10,000-sq-ft addition to its Montgomery, Alabama headquarters. Hartzell became a presence there in 2010, when Tailwind acquired and rebranded Kelly Aerospace Energy Systems. The company’s product line includes turbocharger systems, alternators, starters, Janitrol heaters, fuel pumps, oil filters, ignition harnesses, magnetos, voltage regulators, and a large range of other electrical components.

According to company president Keith Bagley, the growth of the business and upcoming new product introductions spurred the addition. One of its goals, he added, was to allow the consolidation of its product engineering, quality, planning, and purchasing groups to improve collaboration between the groups in a modern open-floor-plan area.

“Last year we purchased our current facility and today we are excited to celebrate the furthering of our commitment to the city of Montgomery, our employees, and to all of general aviation,” said Bagley. “This groundbreaking is also rock-solid proof of our parent company Tailwind Technologies’s steadfast commitment to expand this business and be an integral part of the future of general, business, and military aviation.”

When completed this summer, the expansion will bring the size of the company’s campus to 86,000 sq ft.