Cirrus Expands Grand Forks Manufacturing Facility to Support Growing Demand

GRAND FORKS, N.D.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 14, 2026--

Cirrus (Cirrus Aircraft Ltd.) today celebrated the opening of its expanded manufacturing facility in Grand Forks, North Dakota, marking a significant milestone in the company's continued investment in manufacturing excellence, safety and quality as well as long-term growth. The multi-million-dollar expansion provides the additional production capacity needed to optimize manufacturing flow, increase efficiency, and support demand across the Cirrus product portfolio including the best-selling high-performance single-engine piston aircraft, the SR Series and best-selling jet in general aviation, the Vision Jet.

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Purpose-built to support current and forecasted production rates, the expanded facility enables an optimized production layout that streamlines the movement of composite parts throughout the manufacturing process. The enhanced workflow will improve manufacturing efficiency, and the additional footprint allows for improved automation capability, equipment integration with business systems, and workplace safety.

"This expansion reflects our continued investment in our people, our products, and the Grand Forks community," said Zean Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer at Cirrus. "By adding more than 30,000 square feet, creating new jobs, and enhancing our workplace for our team members, we're positioning Cirrus for continued growth. The strong partnerships we've built with the City of Grand Forks, the State of North Dakota, the Bank of North Dakota, and the University of North Dakota have given us the confidence to continue investing here, including making Grand Forks the location where we will manufacture composites for the new TRAC10 flight training aircraft."

“Grand Forks has played an essential role in Cirrus’ growth and manufacturing strategy for decades,” said Pat Waddick, President of Innovation and Operations at Cirrus. “Our success starts with our people and our supportive community. This investment allows us to create an even better environment for our team while expanding the capacity and capabilities needed to support our continued growth.”

Home to approximately 500 employees, the Grand Forks facility plays a critical role in Cirrus’ manufacturing operations, producing advanced composite parts that support aircraft production. Team members across manufacturing, engineering, safety and quality assurance, CNC machining, human resources and training contribute to the facility's success, with approximately 80 percent of the workforce dedicated to direct manufacturing operations.

The expansion addresses the growing need for additional manufacturing space as Cirrus aircraft demand continues to increase. The expansion also provides facility flexibility to better support the innovation process.

This project also reflects the strong partnership between Cirrus and the Grand Forks community. In addition to Cirrus' investment, local partner contributions underscore a shared commitment to economic growth and advanced manufacturing in the region.

The expanded facility officially opens on August 14 and further strengthens Cirrus' manufacturing network, ensuring the company is well-positioned to meet customer demand while continuing to deliver the quality, innovation and craftsmanship that define every Cirrus aircraft.

About Cirrus

Cirrus is the recognized global leader in personal aviation and the maker of the best-selling SR Series piston aircraft and the Vision Jet, the world’s first 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. To date, worldwide flight time on Cirrus aircraft is over 19 million hours, and over 300 people have returned home safely to their families as a result of the inclusion of CAPS as a standard feature on all Cirrus 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. Learn more at cirrusaircraft.com.

Cirrus celebrated the opening of its expanded Grand Forks manufacturing facility, a multi-million-dollar investment that increases production capacity, improves efficiency and supports continued growth across its SR Series and Vision Jet product lines.

NEW YORK (AP) — Reddit will join the S&P 500 next week, giving the wide-ranging online forum a boost in prestige and investments.

Joining the S&P 500 is considered an achievement for a company because the index is a widely followed measure of the broader U.S. stock market’s health. A company is selected for the index based on several criteria that demonstrate stability, including market size and consistent profitability.

Reddit's stock surged 12.6% Friday.

Aside from status, inclusion means more investments. The index tracks 500 of the biggest U.S. stocks, and trillions of dollars in investments benchmark themselves against it. Those investments include mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Essentially, those funds will have to buy the stock once it becomes part of the index that the fund is tracking or mimicking.

Investors are depending more than ever on funds that simply mimic indexes such as the S&P 500. It’s a lower-cost way to invest, allowing savers to keep more of their investments. Partly because of that, such index funds have usually proven to be better performers than funds that try to pick and choose individual stocks.

Reddit will join the benchmark index as of Tuesday. A stock must trade publicly for at least 12 months to join the S&P 500. The operator of the index, S&P Dow Jones Indices, stuck to that guideline recently when it declined to fast-track SpaceX into the index after the space exploration company's massive initial public offering in June.

Reddit's inclusion comes weeks after it posted strong financial results for the second quarter. That included its highest-ever quarterly revenue. The company has been posting profits almost every quarter since it went public in 2024.

Wall Street expects profits to more than double overall in 2026 on a surge in revenue.

FILE - Reddit Inc. logos are displayed on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor, prior to the company's IPO, Thursday, March. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)