HeraldNet: Governor considers trip to Boeing's Chicago headquarters



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Aerospace Blog

July 1, 2009

Governor considers trip to Boeing's Chicago headquarters

Posted at 3:18 pm by Michelle Dunlop

Gov. Chris Gregoire has been mulling a trip to Boeing’s headquarters in Chicago, irrespective of reports out today that the aerospace company may buy up its 787 supplier in South Carolina and open up a second production line there.

That’s what our politics reporter tells me.

Boeing is keeping quiet about today’s reports about it buying Vought's South Carolina operations.

But local politicians and business leaders have been talking about the potential of losing the second 787 production line for months.

In February, Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia told aerospace representatives that Boeing was unlikely to stay in the region while at a conference in Lynnwood. A few days later, Gregoire assigned an aerospace advisor to try to keep Boeing in the state.

In March, the Legislature called for a study to assess how Washington compared to places like South Carolina, Alabama and Texas.

A month later, Gregoire called for an aerospace council. Later that month, local analyst Scott Hamilton warned the Snohomish County business community that Boeing could leave.

Gregoire’s trip to Boeing headquarters wouldn’t be the first “come to Chicago” chat that Boeing’s had this year. Boeing also met with union leaders earlier this year, sparking Machinists’ president Tom Wroblewski to take a different approach to working with Boeing.

So, when could we find out for certain Boeing’s plans? In this piece, Aviation Week’s Mike Mecham discusses whether Boeing will do it before or during its mid-year earnings call July 22.