MUKILTEO – Washington has a better chance of attracting more suppliers for the new Boeing 787 jetliner, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday after signing legislation that extends aerospace industry tax breaks to companies that design and repair jets.
State and local officials are in talks with six suppliers considering opening plants in Snohomish County to supply 787 parts to the Boeing Co., Gregoire said.
“I’m really feeling we’re going to get five,” she said. “I’m not sure we’re going to get the sixth, but we’re going to make a run at it.”
Gregoire signed the bill at a ceremony at the Future of Flight museum, along with others that extend tax breaks to the biotech industry and provide funds for new programs at Everett Community College.
The signings came after another ceremony at Boeing’s Paine Field delivery center, where Aeromexico took possession of its first 777.
That deal is “a win-win for not only the citizens of Washington state, but also the people of Mexico,” Gregoire told airline executives. “Mi casa e0s su casa,” she added in Spanish. “Mi avion es su avion.” (“My house is yours; my airplane is yours.”)
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
The Legislature in 2003 approved tax breaks for aerospace manufacturers as part of the state’s effort to convince Boeing to build the 787 in the state. The bill Gregoire signed on Thursday extends some of those benefits to aerospace companies that didn’t qualify under the previous bill, including engineering and repair firms.
“We need to retain and recruit those that are in the research and development firms,” Gregoire said. “Those suppliers are really who we need to attract right now.”
The new law will help Goodrich Corp. lower its costs, said Michael Zubovic, vice president for finance at the company’s Paine Field repair base. “Anything that makes us more competitive is a help.”
The leasehold tax credits also will lower costs as Goodrich builds a new Everett factory where it will prepare engine covers and mountings for the 787, he said.
The legislation will help efforts to draw more 787 suppliers here, said Deborah Knutson, president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council.
“What we got was another piece in the toolbox,” she said. “I’m running out of adjectives. This is pretty cool.”
The biotech bill Gregoire signed into law gives tax deferrals to qualifying life sciences companies.
There are many biotech research companies in Washington, but now “they take their research and they ship it someplace else,” Gregoire said. “We want the research and the manufacturing to be done in Washington state.”
Bothell-based Berlex is the first biotech drug manufacturer in the state, and the tax breaks could help it expand in the future, said David Carlson, a Berlex vice president. “It’s clear this bill will make Washington state more competitive.”
Gregoire also signed two higher education bills.
The first provides Everett Community College with $1.57 million to start offering bachelor’s degree programs through the new University Center of North Puget Sound. The center is expected to provide opportunities for 250 students who can’t attend classes at existing colleges, the governor said.
The plan is to expand on programs offered at the University Center at Everett Station, offering four-year degrees in subjects including business, engineering and nursing, said Christine Kerlin, the center’s interim director.
The Legislature also approved $3.8 million to create new space on campus for the center, starting in 2009, she said.
The governor also on Thursday signed a bill that directs the state’s higher education board to determine demand for degree programs in fields such as engineering, science and math, and develop alternatives to meet the demand.
Earlier in the morning, the governor watched as Aeromexico took possession of the Boeing-built 777-200ER.
The airline plans to use it on routes to Europe. It will be 11 percent more fuel-efficient than the 767 it will replace, chief executive Andres Conesa said.
“This is a key event that will mark Aeromexico history,” Conesa said. “We want to be the most important airline in Latin America.”
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
Aeromexico CEO Andres Gonesa (top left) and Gov. Chris Gregoire climb the stairs to see the airline’s first 777 during a ceremony Thursday at Boeing’s Everett plant.
Gregoire and state Rep. Phyllis Kenney check out the cabin of Aeromexico’s 777.
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