No site in Washington selected for factory
EDC Director: Disappointed but not surprised
WASHINGTON (AP) — The parent company of European aircraft maker Airbus SAS has selected four Southern states as finalists for a $600 million U.S. factory to build refueling tankers for the U.S. military.
Sites in Mobile, Ala.; Melbourne, Fla.; Kiln, Miss.; and North Charleston, S.C., will compete for the right to host the U.S. factory, which could begin operations as soon as next year.
The four sites were each asked to provide additional information in a formal request for proposals, which was issued Thursday.
"After careful evaluation, four locations emerged as the sites most capable of meeting the transportation, personnel and manufacturing demands of large military aircraft assembly," said Ralph Crosby Jr., chairman and CEO of EADS North America.
More than 70 sites from 32 states had responded to a request by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., parent company of Airbus, for information on the bidding process.
"We were expecting an announcement in May or June," said Terry Brewer, executive director of the Grant County Economic Development Council, which assisted Washington in submitting its proposal, presenting sites in Grant County, Spokane County and Snohomish County. "It turned out to be a little more ahead of schedule than folks were anticipating."
Brewer said it was "a little bit of a surprise" that EADS wants the four finalists to respond to their request for proposals by the end of May, giving the sites about three weeks to put together "what's got to be a very extensive proposal.
"Obviously, we're disappointed no site in Washington was selected, but not altogether surprised," Brewer said.
— Herald reporter Matthew Weaver contributed to this report
, adding that there was coniderable speculation that southeastern states would have considerable advantage over states on the West Coast, due to logistics and the fact that the south east is easier to reach by ship than the Northwest.
"We still believe that Washington is a state that measures up quite well on the aerospace excellence scale," he said, noting that the state will remain competitive with other opportunities, be they Boeing or other companies. "We'll just keep on the look out and keep trying."
Officials from Washington state — where The Boeing Co. assembles 737s, 747s, 767s and 777s — were among those attending a February informational session hosted by the company in Washington, D.C.
France-based EADS has said it hoped to build a refueling tanker to compete with the Boeing 767 for a multibillion dollar Air Force contract to replace the aging fleet of Boeing-built KC-135 tankers.
Congress last year nullified a potential $23 billion deal with Boeing in a growing ethics scandal that has led to guilty pleas by two top Boeing executives. The Pentagon is expected to reopen the deal to competition later this year.
The four sites selected as finalists are Mobile Downtown Airport, Mobile, Ala., Melbourne International Airport, Melbourne, Fla.; Stennis International Airport, Kiln, Miss.; and Charleston International Airport, North Charleston, S.C.
The four finalists will have until the end of May to submit a detailed bid. EADS North America said it expects to select the site by July.
Initially, the company plans an engineering center that would employ 100 to 150 people. If the company wins the Air Force contract, it would then team with a U.S. defense contractor to build the factory, which could employ as many as 1,100 people.
Speculation has centered on a possible partnership with Northrup Grumman Corp., but officials from both companies said Thursday that no deal has been reached.
"If indeed there is going to be a fair, full and open competition on a tanker-replacement program, Northrup will examine all options … one of which could include partnering with EADS," Northrup spokesman Randy Belote said.
"We've made it clear our intention to build the best American team, but I can't comment on who team members might be at this point," added Guy Hicks, a spokesman for EADS.
Hicks said it was a coincidence that the four finalists were Southern states.
"I can honestly say there was no requirement to locate in a non-(labor) union state," he said. Southern states have traditionally been less welcoming to organized labor than other regions and frequently have lower labor costs.
Hicks said the four sites selected met the company's key criteria: access to a deep water port; good transportation infrastructure, skilled local work force and community support.
"When you roll all that together, these four sites emerged as the most compelling," he said.
On the Net:
EADS North America: www.eadsnorthamerica.com
Matthew Weaver, Columbia Basin Herald staff writer, contributed to this report.