HUNTSVILLE, AL—GE Aviation is expected to begin production later this year at a new factory here to mass-produce certain lightweight, heat-resistant materials for parts designed to enhance jet engine performance and fuel economy, according to the company.

Set on a 100-acre site, the complex houses nine different structures with a total of 250,000 square feet of space, said Jon Lyford, plant manager for GE Aviation’s Huntsville operations. One factory will produce pure silicon carbide fiber, the raw material that will be used to make ceramic matrix composite tape in an adjacent factory.

The tape will be shipped to a GE Aviation facility in Asheville, NC, to create parts for various engine applications, he said last week before a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site.