Such a leap has occurred with the decision of Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. of Texas and Alenia Aeronautic of Italy to build a $560 million manufacturing complex in North Charleston, near Charleston International Airport. The complex will produce fuselages and other structural components for the Boeing Co.'s new 7E7 Dreamliner passenger jet, a wide-body aircraft hailed as the "cutting edge" replacement for Boeing's 757 and 767.

And bringing this complex here is fairly hailed as a grand triumph for the economic future of the state and community.

Gov. Sanford, who helped S.C. Secretary of Commerce Bob Faith and others woo the companies our way, was justifiably enthusiastic about this economic coup. At Wednesday's announcement of the planned plant, he likened the Vought-Alenia decision to build that complex in North Charleston to BMW's decision to build a plant near Spartanburg.

That BMW plant's work force, since full operations began nearly a decade ago, has risen from about 1,700 to about 4,700.

Gov. Sanford added: "Like our expanding automotive cluster in the Upstate, this announcement is all about creating another vibrant hub of economic activity in a globally competitive, high-profile, high-growth industry -- aerospace engineering. It's an announcement that showcases our state's competitive advantages in terms of work force, infrastructure and quality of life, and it's also an example of how successful companies that already call South Carolina home stepped up to the plate and helped us expand our shared economic development horizons."

That "quality of life" consideration apparently played a major role for Giuseppe Giordo, president of Alenia's North American operations, who said Wednesday: "We've had a very nice impression of Charleston. Sometimes when you go in the States, you find places that are completely different from the ones that we have in Europe.

Here it is closer to other cities in Europe. Not just the buildings, but the people, when you talk to people -- the mentality. And of course, the weather."

And of course, construction of the two 300,000-square-foot plants, expected to start early next year, will pump considerable revenue into the local economy, even before the plants open. But the most lasting rewards of the new complex should come well after the plants open through related enterprises and potential expansions. In the 21st century competition for economic development, high tech equals high pay. The Vought-Alenia decision represents a major victory for our state, and our community, in that crucial competition.

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