State working to retain revamped 737

Published 12:01 am Friday, September 16, 2011

The state’s aerospace companies, educational institutions and government are coming together to try to land the Boeing Co.’s re-engined 737.

“We have a huge fight on our hands to secure the new 737,” Linda Lanham, director of industry group Aerospace Futures Alliance, said Thursday.

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anham spoke at Gov. Chris Gregoire’s annual aerospace summit that was held this year in Kent. Roughly 200 representatives of aerospace, education and government gathered to hear about challenges facing the industry.

Among the state’s top priorities: winning future work on Boeing’s re-engined 737, called the 737 MAX. Gregoire has tapped Washington Aerospace Partnership co-director Tayloe Washburn to lead her efforts on the 737.

Although the company has been assembling its 737 in Renton for decades, Boeing says it isn’t sure where it will build the 737 MAX. Boeing executives say they’ll make their choice in the in the next six to eight months.

“We are right in the midst of putting together a very comprehensive study … to see how to attract businesses,” Washburn said.

Washburn’s group has been raising money to fund an aerospace competitiveness study to help the state address any deficiencies that might prevent Boeing from keeping its 737 successor here. On Thursday, Washburn asked aerospace suppliers for their input.

“If we don’t know what the problems are, we can’t fix it,” he said.

Once the study has been completed, the aerospace industry will present a plan to the Legislature in January. Washburn urged companies to lobby their lawmakers to push through the agenda.

Gregoire said she expects the study will find that workforce training is a key issue.

“Nobody can compare with Washington state’s talented workforce,” she said. But “we need to stay at the top of our game.”

The state and industry groups have stepped up their game in terms of training in recent years, adding the Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center at Paine Field and a state aerospace apprenticeship committee.

Boeing and the state’s 650 other aerospace companies face a tremendous challenge in the near future: thousands of workers are preparing to retire at the same time the industry needs even more workers to support increases in jet production.

To help meet demands for engineers, Washington State University and the University of Washington are working together to increase engineering capacity by 400 students annually, said Bob Olsen with WSU. That’s part of the universities’ contribution to the state’s 737 effort.

Stan Deal, who recently was put in charge of supply chain management for Boeing, noted the company and state’s history of success together.

“We have to keep moving. We have to keep investing in the training,” he said.

“It’s really our people who are the heart of this industry.”`