North Charleston, SC (WLTX) - Boeing, the world's largest aircraft maker, has broken ground on a new facility in North Charleston, a plant which is expected to bring thousands of jobs to South Carolina.
The groundbreaking took place Friday morning. Governor Mark Sanford, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, U.S. Representative James Clyburn, and politicians and leaders from across the state were at the event. In addition, hundreds of employees at the current Boeing plant there came out to the news conference.
"This groundbreaking sets into motion what we believe will be revolutionary and indeed generational changes to our state's economy," Sanford said. "Yet it's also a challenge: a challenge to not rest on our laurels and instead redouble efforts to improve our state's business climate; a challenge to use this momentum to push through tough economic headwinds; and a challenge to capitalize on this renewed cooperation between political leadership in Columbia and hard-working citizens across the state to make South Carolina a better place to live, work and raise a family."
The plant will be the main production facility for the Boeing 787, an aircraft nicknamed "Dreamliner." The commercial plane is the next generation aircraft for the company, and represents their latest design improvements.
Clyburn said that the three most important things this adds are "jobs more jobs and many more jobs."
Specifically, the move is expected to directly create 4,000 positions, but some have said that its economic impact in the area and statewide could spin off thousands more. Previous Coverage: Boeing Could Mean Decades of Dividends
Part of the assembly for the 787 was already in the North Charleston area, but last month, the company decided to move the bulk of its operation to the Lowcountry. Previous Coverage: Boeing Expands in S.C. - Creates 4,000 Jobs
The move came after lawmakers passed an incentives package designed to lure them to the area. In making the move to the Palmetto State, the company chose South Carolina over the Seattle, Washington area, Boeing's longtime production headquarters.
11/20/2009 3:51:58 PM
