S. Carolina comes calling

Published 11:30 am Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Representatives from South Carolina’s business community are in town this week, checking out the region’s aerospace cluster.

The visit comes after the Boeing Co. picked Charleston, S.C., as the home of its second 787 jet assembly line last year. The original assembly line is here in Everett at Boeing’s widebody aircraft factory.

Construction got underway recently on Boeing’s South Carolina factory, where Boeing plans to be operational next summer.

The aerospace community here has been wondering whether suppliers will flock to the South given the second 787 line there. The Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance conducted a survey in November among suppliers. At that point, only a few companies planned to open up branches or relocate to South Carolina.

The South Carolina delegation didn’t say which companies they’ll be visiting here.