North Charleston selected for 7E7 fuselage assembly

North Charleston, S.C.—Governor Mark Sanford today announced North Charleston has been selected as the home for two leading international aerostructures manufacturers that will supply Boeing with integrated fuselage structures for its new 7E7 Dreamliner passenger jet, launching South Carolina into the global aeronautics industry.

Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. of Dallas will produce fuselage sections for the 7E7. In addition, Vought and Alenia North America, Inc. are forming a new company, Global Aeronautica, LLC. This company will join and integrate 7E7 fuselage sections from Vought, Alenia and other structural partners on the 7E7. Combined, the two facilities will occupy space in excess of 600,000 square feet. Both the Vought and the Global Aeronautica integration facilities will be located on a 380-acre site at Charleston International Airport.

The integration work done by Global Aeronautica will entail the joining of the majority of the 7E7 fuselage sections and the installation and testing of the associated system elements. Alenia Aeronautica S.p.A. of Italy will build certain fuselage sections in its facilities in Italy and deliver them to the Global Aeronautica facility for integration in North Charleston.

Most of the 7E7’s fuselage will be integrated and tested in North Charleston.

About 645 jobs will be created, with a total investment in excess of $560 million. The average salary will be approximately $50,000. But Governor Sanford said the significance of the announcement exceeds initial investment numbers.

“The bottom line is that like BMW this announcement is a major step forward for South Carolina’s economy and a major step forward in our efforts to raise income levels and improve quality of life for our citizens,” said Governor Sanford. “Just as importantly, it’s a huge win in terms of our ability to compete in a global economy for jobs, capital investment and the kind of industry that can help fuel an entire state’s economic growth for years to come. Just as we’re excited about the foundation for future economic growth that you see with this project, we’re also excited about the prospect of getting reforms like income tax relief that will improve our underlying business climate and enhance our state’s competitive advantage moving forward.”

Secretary of Commerce Bob Faith agreed that the impact of Global Aeronautica could be on the scale of BMW. “In a bit more than a decade, BMW’s presence helped pave the way for our booming auto cluster, which includes ICAR, 232 auto suppliers and auto-related companies in 41 of 46 counties. We now have a similar opportunity to grow our aviation and composites cluster.”

One of the key differences in the 7E7 program from traditional airplane manufacturing is the extensive application of durable, lightweight carbon graphite composite materials in the fuselage. “The groundbreaking use of composites has applications far beyond the aerospace industry, and puts South Carolina on the cutting edge of this knowledge-based technology,” Faith said.

Interest in composite applications extends to the automotive, maritime, biomedical and sports industries, to name a few.

Faith added, “Both Alenia and Vought have expressed a willingness to work with South Carolina-based suppliers, from the initial construction work to other equipment needs, once full-scale operations have begun.”

Production of the new 7E7 is scheduled to begin early in 2006. Initial deliveries to Boeing are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2007.

Boeing’s new Large Cargo Freighters (LCFs), which are specially modified 747s, will fly shipments from the integration facility to Everett, WA, for final assembly at Boeing.

Tom Risley, president and CEO of Vought, cited infrastructure, readily available land and a skilled work force among reasons why Charleston was selected.

“We absolutely had to have access to long runways, a deepwater port and rail and that put Charleston in contention,” he said. “Moreover, South Carolina’s work force has a splendid international reputation. But Governor Sanford and Secretary Faith advised us right from the beginning that they would not take ‘no’ for an answer. They were hands-on throughout our negotiations and convinced us that South Carolina is a business-friendly state.”

“More than anything, I was impressed by the quality of life in the Charleston area,” said Alenia Aeronautica CEO Roberto Assereto. “Charleston is such an international city, and I feel at home here.”

“This world-class operation will bring tremendous economic opportunity to the residents and businesses of the Charleston region,” said Ted Creech, chairman of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. “With the strong and intense competition for this state-of-the-art manufacturing center, we can be proud that our region stood out as the clear winner.”

“This is history in the making,” said Curtis Bostic, Vice-Chairman of Charleston County Council, “and the single most significant announcement in Charleston County’s economic history. The Vought/Alenia consortium represents the ‘leading edge’ of aviation technology, and as their host community, Charleston will join the ranks of the world’s elite aviation engineering destinations. Beyond the huge capital investment, hundreds of skilled high-wage jobs, enormous local spending, and many allied supplier firms which this renowned consortium promises to bring to the Charleston economy, it will also create an entire new and futuristic industry ‘cluster’ for the Lowcountry and for South Carolina.”

“The economic impact of this project goes well beyond the jobs and investment announced today,” said Keith Summey, Mayor of North Charleston. “Partnerships with area educators will bring exciting new career opportunities to our citizens, with a strong focus on engineering. This is truly a triumph for our region.”

Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. (www.voughtaircraft.com) is one of the world’s largest independent suppliers of aerostructures. Headquartered in Dallas, the company designs and manufactures major airframe structures such as wings, fuselage subassemblies, empennages, nacelles and other components for prime manufacturers of aircraft. Vought has annual sales of approximately $1.2 billion and more than 6,000 employees in seven U.S. locations.

Alenia Aeronautica (www.alenia-aeronautica.it) is the Italian industrial leader in aeronautical productions and is one of the world’s most advanced companies, with products ranging from combat and transport aircraft to commercial aircraft, aerostructures, mission systems, and aircraft maintenance and modification. Headquartered in Rome, the company had revenue of approximately $1.58 billion and a workforce of more than 8,800 in 2003.