REGENT To Make Seagliders In Rhode Island, Create 300 Jobs

The manufacturer broke ground for its facility in Quonset Development Park.

Rhode Island leaders joined the Quonset Development Corporation for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction at REGENT Craft, Inc.’s new seaglider manufacturing facility. The manufacturing facility will produce 12-passenger seagliders, serving global customer orders at the site and is expected to open in mid-2026. REGENT has secured more than 600 seaglider orders valued at more than $9 billion from leading airline and ferry operators and has raised more than $90 million from investors including 8090 Industries, Founders Fund, Japan Airlines and Lockheed Martin.

REGENT, headquartered at Quonset Business Park, will lease an additional 255,000-square-foot facility at the site for 25 years. The company’s expansion is expected to create 300 new jobs, with the potential of up to 750, over the next 10 years.

“Breaking ground on the seaglider manufacturing facility represents a pivotal moment in REGENT’s history, bringing us closer to meeting the incredible global demand for our all-electric seagliders,” said Billy Thalheimer, Co-Founder and CEO of REGENT. “We are honored to partner with our state leaders, the Quonset Development Corporation, and our local community members to create well-paying jobs in Rhode Island, reinvigorate American-made manufacturing, and make the Ocean State the global epicenter of the blue economy.”

“Quonset is proud to support REGENT’s expansion at the Business Park, further strengthening our role as a leader in manufacturing,” said Steven J. King, P.E., Managing Director of the Quonset Development Corporation. “With one in every five manufacturing jobs at Quonset, the state’s investment will create even more good-paying jobs and bolster Rhode Island’s position as a leader in the blue economy.”

Rhode Island
(From left): U.S. Reps. Gabe Amo and Seth Magaziner; House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi; REGENT co-founders Mike Klinker and Billy Thalheimer; Gov. Dan McKee; QDC Managing Director Steven J. King; U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse; and R.I. Sen. Robert Britto break ground on REGENT’s new facility. (Photo: Quonset Development Corporation)

“Thanks to companies like REGENT, Rhode Island is becoming a destination for innovation,” said Governor Dan McKee. “This new manufacturing facility not only bolsters our economy through good-paying jobs, but reaffirms our state’s position as the epicenter of the blue economy.”

“Rhode Island Commerce is proud to support REGENT in the development of their new facility,” said Secretary of Commerce and QDC Board Chair Liz Tanner. “REGENT is a prime example of the innovative, advanced manufacturing companies we aim to attract and grow in Rhode Island — especially in key industries like ocean technology, where Rhode Island excels.”

To support REGENT’s operational expansion, Rhode Island has invested $1 million under the First Wave Closing Fund Act and has further committed to investing $3 million under the Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit Act and up to $13 million under the Qualified Jobs Program, all administered by Rhode Island Commerce.

REGENT is pioneering the future of sustainable maritime mobility through the development and manufacturing of all-electric seagliders, new vessels that drastically reduce the time and cost of coastal transportation. REGENT’s flagship seaglider, Viceroy, is a 12-passenger vehicle that travels at 180mph to service routes up to 180 miles on a single charge.

Check out all the latest news related to Rhode Island economic development, corporate relocation, corporate expansion and site selection.

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