The German aerospace company AT Engine invested more than $200 million in the facility, which will supply customer General Electric with turbine parts, according to a state release and comments from a company representative. It will also bring around 400 jobs to the state, whose economy has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

“I value it more because of the times we’re living through,” said Sonoran Gov. Claudia Pavlovich.

She credited the quality of the state’s system of higher education and its graduates with making Sonora attractive to companies like AT Engine.