Wash. biz leaders urge Boeing to site second 787 line here

A group of CEOs in the state recently sent Boeing's Jim Albaugh a letter urging him to site the company's second 787 assembly line here.

Here's the letter:

Dear Mr. Albaugh:

Washington is justifiably proud of the fact that Boeing's presence here has firmly established the state as the commercial aerospace capital of the world. From William Boeing's original 1916 seaplane, to the 707 that revolutionized commercial air travel, to today's innovative 787, Washington has benefited greatly from Boeing's tremendous economic and community contributions. We also believe that, in return, the State of Washington has provided a supportive and productive home for Boeing and its employees.

As you make a significant decision - where to site a second production line for the 787 - we encourage you to locate that line here in Washington, where we have a long track record of demonstrable success together.

Like that of Boeing, our companies' histories provide clear evidence that companies can be built and operated successfully here in this state. We recognize that Washington continually must improve its competitive standing in today's global economy. In recent years, we have made progress on a number of issues that are important to both Boeing and the rest of the business community, but agree that more work remains to be done.

As leaders of the local business community, our commitment is to work closely with you and state officials to create a business climate that allows all Washington firms to attract the talent, capital and other resources necessary to compete successfully in the competitive global economy. In particular, we pledge our support to you and your entire company in working to ensure Washington remains the single best place for you to design, build and market commercial airplanes.

Thank you for considering Washington as a location for the next 787 production line. We join many others in our community in looking forward to building on our great history with Boeing and creating an even more successful future together.

Sincerely,

William S. Ayer, Chairman & CEO, Alaska Airlines
Colleen B. Brown, President & CEO, Fisher Communications
Jeff Brotman, Chairman & Co-Founder, Costco Wholesale
Phyllis J. Campbell, Chair/Pacific Northwest, JPMorgan Chase
Craig Cole, President & CEO, Brown & Cole, Inc.
Robert W. Cremin, Chairman, President & CEO, Esterline Technologies, Inc.
Craig Dawson, President & CEO, Retail Lockbox, Inc.
Fred Devereux, President, Wireless Operations, West, AT&T
Andrew Doman, President & CEO, Russell Investments
Melanie Dressel, President & CEO, Columbia Bank
Reginald Fils-Aime, President & COO, Nintendo of America, Inc.
Michael Hughes, President, Safeco Insurance Companies
Barbara Hulit, President, Fluke Corporation
Michael Kluse, Director, Battelle
Tod Leiweke, Chief Executive Officer, Seattle Seahawks
Bill Lewis, President, Lease Crutcher Lewis
Howard Lincoln, Chairman, Seattle Mariners
Steve Loeb, President & CEO, Alaska Distributors
Stan W. McNaughton, President & CEO, PEMCO Financial Services
Colin Moseley, Chairman, Green Diamond Resource Company
Carol Nelson, President & CEO, Cascade Financial Corporation
Kirk R. Nelson, President-Washington, Qwest Communications
Jeff Pitzer, Business Unit Leader, BP Cherry Point
Stephen P. Reynolds, Chairman, President & CEO, Puget Sound Energy
George W. “Skip” Rowley, Jr., CEO & Chairman of the Board, Rowley Properties, Inc.
Johns W. Stanton, Managing Partner, Trilogy Partnership
Brad Smith, Sr. V.P. & General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation
Randall H. Talbot, President & CEO, Symetra Financial Corporation
Jim Warjone, Chairman & CEO, Port Blakely Tree Farms