State submits proposal for EADS assembly plant

by Matthew Weaver<br>Herald Staff Writer
| April 1, 2005 8:00 PM

GCEDC manager: County's assets unequaled elsewhere

GRANT COUNTY — Earlier this week, Washington submitted its proposal that might lead to much-needed new employment opportunities, and the Grant County Economic Development Council's feeling fine.

French-based EADS, parent company of Boeing rival Airbus, said in February that it plans to open a U.S. manufacturing site within a year, with hopes of building a refueling tanker to compete with the Boeing 767.

Representatives from the state attended a February meeting, along with officials from 35 other states, to hear Airbus pitch a $600 million aircraft assembly plant.

Caroline Spira, Grant County Economic Development Council communications and research manager, said the state sent off the proposal Monday. Grant County, Spokane County and Snohomish County are the sites named in Washington's proposal.

"We responded to their request for information," Spira said. "We responded to EADS' questions, as to what they were looking for. We put a very good proposal forward for Grant County, the proposal for Washington state is excellent, and we're very confident as to what we've put forward for EADS."

The proposal's excellence stems from Washington's position as the center of excellence for aerospace, Spira said, and the state has a lot to offer for EADS and any other aerospace company.

She asserted that the selection process for EADS is still very early, being in a preliminary, request-for-information stage.

"We're very confident that Grant County has what is necessary for an aerospace company to succeed in the marketplace," she said. "We have assets that are not equaled anywhere else, we have great support from Washington state and we think we're a very good site for industrial companies."

Next, EADS has to look over the information and get back to the state, which would provide more information if asked. Spira said it's a good sign for any project when the company requests more information and has questions.

It is not known when more information would be released by EADS, she said.

"People in Grant County will be happy to know that we are pursuing projects where we have competitive advantage," Spira said. "With everything that we do for this project and any other project, we do it in the best interest of the county and (for) what can bring the best opportunity for economic advancement."