Copyright WDIV ClickOnDetroit
DETROIT – Birdstop, a drone manufacturing company, is establishing its new headquarters in Detroit, aiming to change the fact that only about 1% of the world’s drones are made in the United States. Keith Miao, Birdstop’s CEO and founder, shared his vision for the company’s growth at their 420,000-square-foot facility. Miao hopes to build thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of drones from the Motor City. “This building is 420,000 square feet. We would really like to grow into that as quickly as possible, building thousands, hundreds of thousands,” said Miao. The choice of Detroit was no accident. Miao cited the city’s manufacturing heritage and the significant scale of manufacturing education happening in Detroit and Michigan as key reasons for locating there. Drone technology has limitless uses, from natural disaster response to police operations. For example, drones can quickly deploy after hurricanes to assess damage safely or respond within seconds to gunshot detections, providing critical intel to officers. Birdstop is leveraging Detroit’s existing supply chain and talent pool, hiring locally and relocating some staff from other parts of the country. “We really think that Detroit is already and can continue to be a capital for not just innovation broadly, but drone innovation and manufacturing,” said Director of Entrepreneurship and Opportunity, City of Detroit, Justin Onwenu. This move aims to continue Detroit’s legacy as a manufacturing capital, now expanding into drone innovation. Looking ahead, Birdstop plans to employ hundreds of people at its Detroit headquarters, driving the next chapter in the city’s manufacturing story.
