City Will Host Company Formed By Vought And Alenia North
America
Two leading international aerostructures manufacturers that will
supply Boeing with integrated fuselage structures for its 7E7
Dreamliner will locate in North Charleston, launching South
Carolina into the global aeronautics industry.
Vought Aircraft Industries of Dallas will produce fuselage
sections for the 7E7. Also, 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
Aeronautica S.p.A. of Italy and other structural partners on the
7E7. Combined, the two facilities will occupy more than 600,000
square feet of space. Both the Vought and the Global Aeronautica
integration facilities will be located on a 380-acre site at
Charleston International Airport.
Global Aeronautica will integrate the majority of the 7E7
fuselage sections and install and test associated system elements.
Alenia will build certain fuselage sections 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 total investment in excess
of $560 million. Governor Mark Sanford said, "This announcement is
all about creating another vibrant hub of economic activity in a
globally-competitive, high-profile, high-growth industry--aerospace
engineering. It's something that showcases our competitive
advantages in terms of workforce, infrastructure and quality of
life."
A key difference 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 beyond the
aerospace industry, and puts South Carolina on the cutting-edge of
this knowledge-based technology," state Commerce Secretary Bob
Faith said.
Boeing's new Large Cargo Freighters will fly shipments from the
North Charleston integration facility to Everett, WA, for final
assembly at Boeing.
Tom Risley, president and CEO of Vought, cited infrastructure,
available land and skilled workers 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 workforce 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."
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