S.C. governor signs Boeing incentives bill

  • Associated Press
  • Tuesday, April 23, 2013 5:06pm
  • Business

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Tuesday signed legislation to provide $120 million in incentives to the Boeing Co. for its expansion plans in the state.

“Boeing is a part of the fabric of South Carolina, and this solidifies our relationship with Boeing going forward,” Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said.

The measure moved quickly through the Legislature after Chicago-based Boeing announced two weeks ago it would invest another $1 billion and create 2,000 jobs over eight years in North Charleston.

The state House gave final approval to the measure on Thursday. Lawmakers say Boeing’s plans will put South Carolina in a position to become an aerospace hub, with suppliers locating across the state for not only Boeing but also possibly Airbus in Alabama.

The borrowing bill covers Boeing’s upfront costs of buying and improving the land.

Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt, a former BMW executive, has said the incentives are similar to those granted to BMW when its plant in Greer, S.C., expanded after opening in the 1990s. BMW suppliers are in 41 of the state’s 46 counties.

The first of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners built in South Carolina rolled off the assembly line about a year ago. The plant assembles one of the planes a month and within weeks will be assembling two a month, says Jack Jones, the vice president and general manager of Boeing South Carolina.

The Boeing plant also builds mid- and aft-body assemblies for 787s that are made in South Carolina and Everett. Jones said seven assemblies are put together each month and the number will increase to 10 this fall.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell said he believes Boeing will deliver more than the minimum promised for the $120 million.

In 2009, lawmakers gave Boeing an incentive package worth $170 million in exchange for the company spending at least $750 million and creating at least 3,800 jobs within seven years. The North Charleston complex already employs about 6,000 people.

“Boeing is a company that’s under-promised and over-delivered,” said Harrell, R-Charleston. “The result of cementing them to us is well beyond what these numbers show here.”

Of the 2,000 new jobs, half of those hired will be in engineering, computer technology and research and development, according to Harrell and Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman, who helped negotiate the incentives package.

Airbus broke ground earlier this month on its first U.S. airplane assembly plant. Its $600 million factory in Mobile, Ala., is expected to employ 1,000 people once production of the Airbus A320 jet begins around 2015.

Boeing’s 2009 decision resulted in a lawsuit by the National Labor Relations Board, which alleged in April 2011 that Boeing was building a plant in South Carolina, a right-to-work state, over concerns about strikes by union workers in the state of Washington.

The complaint, which sought a court order forcing the aerospace company to build the line in the Pacific Northwest, prompted outrage from Republican lawmakers, South Carolina officials and business groups, and became a major political issue in the GOP presidential primary.

The NLRB officially dropped its high-profile case eight months later after the Machinists union in Washington approved a four-year contract extension with Boeing and agreed to withdraw its charge that the company violated federal labor laws. Under the deal, Boeing promised to build the new version of its 737 airplane in Washington state.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.