We all know that the devil is in the details, and that’s never been truer than during the Boeing Co.’s search for a place to build the 7E7.
You’ve probably heard how the state of Minnesota’s bid to get the plant was tripped up by a detail; the little fact that Lake Superior freezes up all winter means the Duluth doesn’t have year-round access to a deep-water port. Officials in Minnesota tried to sell Boeing on a plan to ship parts in by rail, but it seems that didn’t pencil out.
After a frank talk with Boeing’s site-selection team, Minnesota economic development officials decided they’d be better off trying to get Canadian regional jet builder Bombardier to build a maintenance facility in Duluth, rather than waste time and money on Boeing.
Reports from newspapers around the country suggest that other cities with Dreamliner dreams could also get derailed by issues that don’t seem to have anything to do with airplanes.
The Texas border towns of Brownsville and Harlingen have been rumored to be front-runners.
One reason may be labor costs. The Brownsville Economic Development Council estimates that if Boeing comes there, the 1,200 7E7 final assembly workers it hires would be paid on average $12 an hour — about half what Boeing Machinists here make.
But there’s a hitch with the south Texas bid, the Valley Morning Star newspaper in Harlingen reported.
The problem is language in a U.S. Senate energy and water appropriations bill. Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is seeking a restriction to keep material dredged from the shipping channels from being disposed on private land.
Apparently this stems from some sort of dispute between a Texas company that owns a lot of land and the federal government, which wants to condemn some of it to be a dumping ground for dredging spoils
But the net result, some warn, would be to shut down shipping along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway — and keep barges carrying Boeing parts from going up the Rio Grande River to Harlingen.
The bill "could completely scuff any effort the city of Harlingen makes to negotiate" with Boeing, Texas state Sen. Eddie Lucio told the newspaper.
That’s got other Texas legislators standing in opposition to the popular Hutchison, while she herself tries to find a compromise.
Meanwhile, over in Florida, they’re worried about red tape.
Florida has a requirement that only engineers licensed and registered by the Florida Board of Professional Engineers are able to do business as a "professional engineer."
There are training and continuing education requirements — and a $5,000 a day fine for each unlicensed or unregistered engineer, The Business Journal of Jacksonville reported.
That’s got some corporate recruiters worried, the Journal reported. If the state requires Boeing to hire a whole new staff of Florida-certified engineers, that would be a stumbling block to getting them to come to the state.
It’s probably not a deal-breaker, but "it will be a factor in the decision process," said Marshall Heard, the head of Florida’s Aviation Aerospace Alliance.
Brazilian regional jet builder Embraer, which plans to expand into Florida, also wants the rules changed, the paper reported. So a move is underway to lift the engineering licensing requirements for the aerospace industry.
Sounds simple enough, but another major Florida employer — Disney — also wants the same treatment, the paper said. And that could encourage even more industries to seek exemptions.
While all this is going on, elected officials around the country continue to insist that their communities are on the short list for landing the 7E7 final assembly plant. (Never mind that Boeing says there is no short list.)
In Oklahoma, Gov. Brad Henry said he is "confident we are in the hunt" to get the 7E7 plant in Tulsa. He said he would call a legislative special session if quick action was needed on tax breaks before the end of the year.
In North Carolina, the Free Press of Kinston reported that Boeing representatives took a follow-up tour of a proposed site in late September.
"Things are looking good," Democratic state Sen. John Kerr told the paper.
And in New Jersey, city officials in Millville say they’re still getting requests for information from Boeing.
"I viewed that as a positive," Don Ayers, the city’s economic development director, told The Daily Journal. "If they weren’t interested, they wouldn’t be asking."
Of course in New Jersey, they still think the 7E7 is intended to replace Boeing’s 727, which the company stopped building in 1984.
Details, details, details.
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.
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