S.C. Shines (and Not)

[Ken Massingale]

Well, Boeing is coming to SC to build the Dreamliner. There could be 12,000 jobs with support vendors.
In interviews with Washington state residents one fellow said Boeing was going to SC to build airliners 'with the functional equivalents of Walmart greeters'!
(and honestly some days I feel Walmart should be insulted by this statement, not SC residents)

On a more common note for our fine state it seems, an Asst. Attorney general was fired this week after police said he was found in a cemetery with a teenage stripper.

[Mike Davis]

What was the old saying?

Put 12,000 monkeys in a room with a typewriter and they will invent a PC...

Well, something like that.

Good on the jobs!

[Travis Porter]

I am glad to hear it for South Carolina, but I thought Boeing's sales had slowed down.....

I can appreciate the greeter comment.

[Glennbear]

I am glad SC will be gaining the jobs but I wish Boeing had chosen VA instead. The current recession has forced me to become "unretired" and enter the job search market

[smandal]

from the wff4.com post

"The deal was reached after lawmakers on Tuesday approved lower-interest construction bonds and incentives that include a sales tax exemption on fuel used in test flights. To qualify, Boeing will have to bring at least $750 million in investment to the state over the next seven years."

At a much higher level, I do not see the bright future for airline industry. I saw a couple of major airlines announcing laying off plans during last couple of days. Lets say, there will be an economic recovery sometime in future. An economic recovery will ensure oil over $150/barrel with gas costing above $5/gallon. Airline business is the not right business to be in at that level of fuel prices.

I have a bad feeling that this Boeing venture is going to turn out like Dell in NC. I hope, I'm wrong.

Meanwhile yeh! for 12K jobs.

[scsmith42]

It seems to me that everybody wins... except for the unions and as a result, some workers in Washington State.

At first I questioned locating in Charleston - primarily due to the higher potential for hurricane damage. However, wherever they locate they will need port access and let's face it - the entire SE and gulf coast are hurricane candidates. Locating up in the NE would result in higher overall costs (winter costs, labor costs, and government costs), so the SE makes a more logical choice. And the Left coast is fraught with higher govt costs, taxes, etc,

The Newport News area of VA would have been another good choice. Lots of steady labor (military presence) and good port.

[Gotcha6]

Glad to hear it for Charleston but don't think for a moment that geography had anything much to do with it. Anybody much using the big Foreign Trade Zone airport out in the eastern part of the state? This may get 'moderated', but these things are usually politically motivated. Just ask any West Virginian how much Robert Byrd brought to their state - but that's their job like it or not. I'm just surprised to see the SC delegation could negotiate it despite the political embarrassments they've endured lately. Ups to them.
If they build the plant, we'll git t' teach more folks from other parts o' the country how to eat grits & liver mush!

[Outa Square]

It all boils down to incentives. Incentives takes geography out of the equation. Incentives stink... but untill nobody uses them it is the name of the game when it comes to industrial recruitment.

[Dragon]

Good news for the "coasters" in SC and maybe a little spinoff towards the upstate area where I'm from. Either way, Boeing's major consideration IS cheap labor and getting out of union territory. GE has/is doing the same thing. They shut down the operation in Owen Sound, Canada and moved it here to Lincolnton. That's how I would up transferring up here from SC. Now, they've recently finalized the shutting down of the Tualatin, OR. facility and moving all that labor here to Lincolnton. Major consideration? COSTS! Labor here is m u c h cheaper than in the other areas and having moved the operation out of Hickory to the industrial park here in Lincolnton in 2007, they got a big new building to put all that stuff in.

On the plus side, I'm able to offer to my friends here on North Carolina Woodworker some very good deals on workbenches and industrial shelving that we can't use or store. The boss told me yesterday that he may be doing some more "housecleaning" pretty soon so............if I'm the lucky bidder again, I can post up some more stuff for you guys.

On the maybe/maybe not negative side, GE is trying to sell off its Security Div. and right now it's looking like United Technologies may be my new employer. How all that will shake down remains to be seen. They've already sold off their Homeland Security operations to a French concern. Yeah, made me do the same thing. The only time the French have any use for Americans is when the Germans are sipping wine in Paris. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. It's all about the money.

Anyway, my best wishes to the folks in SC and to the folks that Boeing is putting on the streets in Washington.