Boeing has asked 15 sites
across the United States through formal request for proposals to submit
bids to build the company’s new 777X long-haul jet, The Seattle Times
reported Saturday.
“We are being considered,” said Paul Campbell, executive director of Charleston County Aviation Authority.
Campbell
said he had not been formally notified, but, “based on the success
Boeing has had here, I’m confident we will be on the list.”
“Boeing
loves South Carolina and our ability to turn and burn,” Campbell said.
“I really do think we have a shot, but you are competing with some
pretty good other areas.”
The Seattle newspaper reported Washington state, Long Beach, Calif., and Salt Lake City, Utah, are also on the list.
The
report did not say specifically that North Charleston made the cut,
only that it’s “likely” to be on the list, along with Huntsville, Ala.,
and San Antonio, Texas.
Other sites include existing locations where Boeing does business and new “greenfield” sites, according to the newspaper.
Several
high-ranking politicians in South Carolina, including Gov. Nikki Haley,
said they had been in touch with Boeing officials about building the
new airplane or some part of it in North Charleston.
Boeing spokesman Doug Alder told the Times the formal requests for proposals were sent out late Friday.
Alder
said the sites were selected “based on conversations that those sites
or locations asked to be included and met the qualifications we were
looking for,” according to The Seattle Times.
Boeing wants all bids back by mid-December and will make a decision early next year.
The
bids can include work for final assembly of the new twin-engine
passenger plane and for construction of the new composite wings, which
tips that fold up.
The work could occur at the same place or separately, Alder told The Times.
Boeing
made good on its pledge to look outside Washington state for
competitive bids to build the new airplane after the International
Association of Machinists rejected an eight-year contract extension
through 2024 that would have ensured labor peace but meant union members
would have to make concessions on pensions and other benefits.
The
Boeing spokesman said the company does not plan to re-enter talks with
union members on a contract. The current union contract expires in 2016.
Boeing assembles and makes parts for the 787 Dreamliner at its North Charleston campus at Charleston International Airport.
The
Chicago-based aerospace giant is also buying 267 acres along
International Boulevard across from its sprawling 787 factory for
undisclosed uses. A new paint facility for the 787 is likely to be on a
small part of the property. Boeing now flies its completed 787s from
North Charleston to Texas to be painted.
The airplane
manufacturer also recently announced that some of the detailed design
work for the 777X will be performed in North Charleston, as well as
other locations across the U.S., including Huntville, Ala.; Long Beach,
Calif.; Philadelphia and St. Louis. A design center in Moscow will also
play a part.
The company also broke ground earlier this month on a
new 225,000-square-foot factory in Palmetto Commerce Park in North
Charleston to build engine components for its 737 MAX airplane. The
48-acre site can accommodate future expansion up to 600,000 square feet.
Boeing is expected to start production on the 777X by 2017 or 2018 with the first flight by the end of the decade.
Earlier
this week, the company picked up more than 200 orders for the new jet
during the Dubai Air Show in the Middle East. Most of the orders came
from Middle East airlines.
Source: http://www.postandcourier.com