The cockpit for Boeing Co.'s new 787 passenger jet
will be installed in Everett, Wash., rather than the Vought-Alenia manufacturing
complex at Charleston International Airport, dashing hopes for assembly work
that would have resulted in an additional 255 jobs for the region.
Tom Risley, president, chairman and chief executive officer of Dallas-based
Vought Aircraft Industries Inc., announced the decision Monday in North
Charleston at what was an otherwise celebratory occasion.
Risley joined Gov. Mark Sanford and senior executives from Vought's 787
business partner, Alenia Aeronautica of Italy, to mark the start of construction
of the $560 million aircraft assembly complex the two companies are building off
International Boulevard.
Risley said the aerospace venture's original commitment to the state and
Charleston County is unchanged. The companies will need about 645 workers at the
airport site, where they will make the rear fuselage sections from space-age
composite materials and piece them together.
The average wage will be about $50,000 compared to an average of $31,429 for
Charles-ton County.
Economic development officials had hoped Boeing also would pick the
Vought-Alenia consortium to attach the 787 cockpits. That would have provided
the companies with extra financial incentives from the state and bumped their
North Charleston payroll to about 900 workers. "But it's just not going to work
from a manufacturing standpoint," Risley said.
The problem is that the cockpits will be made by Boeing at a plant in
Wichita, Kan. If they were to be flown to North Charleston, they'd have to be
partially disassembled, then reassembled once they were ready to be attached to
the jet's aft section, Risley said.
That proved too costly and too time consuming, he said. "It's a redundant
step," he said.
Even so, Vought and Alenia officials said they expect eventually to expand
and add more jobs in North Charleston, though no deals have been finalized.
Vought, for example, is in talks with Boeing about "the stuffing of the
fuselage" for the 787, Risley said. Those tasks could include the installation
of seats, wiring, electronics, insulation and hydraulic systems.
Alenia is banking on its North Charleston operation to help it win more
aircraft orders from the U.S. military. If the strategy pans out, the Rome-based
company will consider building those planes at the airport site, said Giuseppe
Giordo, president of Alenia North America.
The state Commerce Department is waiting to see if the Army National Guard
decides to replace its C-23 Sherpa fleet with the C-27J Spartan, a cargo
transporter Alenia developed with Lockheed Martin.
"We would certainly be a contender for the final assembly of that plane,"
said Bob Faith, state commerce secretary.
For now, the scope of 787 work dictates that the companies develop only about
100 acres of its 382-acre property behind the Trident Research Authority campus.
Site work has begun, but there are some loose ends to tie up before major
construction can proceed. The lease with the landlord, the Charleston County
Aviation Authority, has not yet been signed. Also, Vought is waiting for a
permit allowing it to fill about 51 acres of wetlands at the property.
A land-use plan shows two major structures totaling 726,000 square feet. One
of the buildings will be a fabrication plant where Vought workers will
manufacture structural components for the 787 from composite materials, such as
carbon fiber and various epoxies. Next door, a company that Vought and Alenia
are forming, Global Aeronautica, will assemble the individual parts for shipment
to Boeing.
The companies' site plan also shows offices, a training center and a
277,250-square-foot hangar for the specially modified 747 cargo jets that will
transport components to and from North Charleston.
Also on Monday, Vought and Alenia announced they have hired two executives to
oversee the joint venture and the startup of the 787 plant. Russ Day was tapped
as vice president and general manager of Global Aeronautica, and Ralph Minnis
was named vice president of finance. Both are aviation industry veterans who
will report to a management board to be named later by the companies.
Vought and Alenia said they plan to start recruiting employees by the end of
the summer. Production is scheduled to start in early 2006.
