Boeing Co. said it will apply for a building permit to add a 787 Dreamliner facility in South Carolina in a “procedural” move as the company considers its first commercial assembly line outside of Washington state.
The planemaker plans to notify South Carolina officials today that it’s filing for permits, Russ Young, a spokesman at Boeing’s commercial-aircraft headquarters near Seattle, said in an interview yesterday.
“This does not mean we’ve decided to locate the second line there,” Young said. “It’s strictly a procedural step. The process is comprehensive and requires significant lead time.”
Boeing is considering Everett, Washington; Charleston, South Carolina; and “other locations” for a Dreamliner assembly line….
It goes without saying that if South Carolina does get the assembly line, it will be good news for South Carolinians employment-wise.
I have nothing against Everett, but “Dreamliner” and Charleston just seem to go together.
Is this a move intended to make the state of Washington nervous about Boeing taking jobs elsewhere? The article doesn’t say much about the business climate in Washington (just a little about unions and strikes.)