Boom Supersonic, the Colorado company building history’s fastest supersonic airliner, has selected Birmingham’s Hoar Program Management (HPM) to lead its program to locate, plan, design, and build its first U.S. manufacturing facility.
In this facility, Boom will build Overture — a Mach-2.2 supersonic commercial airliner that will serve hundreds of transoceanic routes. With business-class fares and travel speeds more than twice as fast as subsonic aircraft, Overture will make the world dramatically more accessible. Boom is currently assembling XB-1, a Mach-2.2 supersonic demonstrator aircraft, to prove key technologies in-flight for safe, efficient supersonic travel. The data collected from XB-1 test flights will help refine the design of Overture.
“As XB-1 continues to advance through the build stage, we’re excited to turn our attention to the development of Overture,” said Bill James, Boom’s senior vice president of operations. “Finding a partner that could lead us through this process was an important step, and HPM’s experience in the aerospace industry made them the top choice. We couldn’t be happier to partner with HPM to lead our site selection process.”
Site selection efforts are now underway for the manufacturing site, which will begin passenger service in the mid-2020s. Boom is employing an objective site selection process, evaluating all location factors that will influence operational success.
HPM’s program management responsibilities include recruitment of all project team members and providers involved in planning, design, supplies and construction. To help develop and implement the optimal location strategy for Boom’s manufacturing operations, HPM partnered with Site Selection Group (SSG), a leading provider of global location advisory, economic incentive and corporate real estate services.
Today, the Boom has a full-time team of over 130 employees and anticipates doubling its staff over the next 12 months. To accommodate the assembly of XB-1 and development of Overture, Boom recently relocated to a large, state-of-the-art facility in Centennial, Colorado.
Photo courtesy of Boom Supersonic