General Electric Co. is a leading supplier of jet and turboprop engines, avionics, and electrical power and mechanical systems. Its products are used in a wide variety of commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft.

BEIJING—China’s first domestic manufacturer of jet engines, Aero Engine Corp. of China, has officially opened for business. The multibillion dollar conglomerate will employ some 100,000 people and incorporate subsidiaries of various state-owned firms, including the Aviation Industrial Corp. of China.

SOUTH BEND, IN—It’s 20 feet tall, weighs about 400,000 pounds and is now making its way from South Bend to Connecticut: It's the world's largest friction welding machine. Pratt & Whitney will use the machine, made by Manufacturing Technology Inc., to weld large-diameter jet engine components.

INDIANAPOLIS—Jet engine maker Rolls-Royce Corp. is planning to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade its assembly plant here, a project that would bring the factory up to par with newer company facilities elsewhere.

MIDDLETOWN, CT—Pratt and Whitney unveiled a new state-of-the-art assembly line here. The horizontal assembly line suspends the engine from the ceiling, so it can move up, down and around, instead of the workers having to do all that. The assembly line will make engines for the Airbus 320 Neo passenger jet and the F-35 joint strike fighter.

LAFAYETTE, IN—GE Aviation has started the initial hiring of employees for the $100 million jet engine assembly plant under construction here. The factory will employ more than 200 workers within five years.

ENFIELD, NS—Pratt & Whitney Canada will invest $67 million in its assembly plant here over the next six years.

ASHEVILLE, NC—GE Aviation celebrated the opening of its new advanced composites factory here. The new 170,000-square-foot facility will be the first in the world to mass-produce engine components made of advanced ceramic matrix composite materials.