MADE IN S.C.
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ing, but as we go out to recruit other businesses and other industries to come to the area, it says that we do have a very qualified workforce,” Summey said. Haley said the body of work is a testament that South Carolina is worth bidding on. “South Carolina continues to prove that when we build things, we build them well,” she said. “Now you will see we are the state that everyone is looking to.”
Watching Boeing, reminded of BMW An economic beast all its own, the Boeing Co. has a template for its ability to affect South Carolina’s aviation industry much like another international brand did for the automotive industry with its entrance two decades ago. “It reminds me very much of my time at BMW,” said Bobby Hitt, secretary of the S.C. Department of Commerce. “I think the
Initial Investment
Dreamliner Facts
– Boeing
210 - 250 passengers
$300M
$1.025B
BMW X6 5.5’ Tall
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225
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75
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155
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Current Jobs
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3,800
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to the top of the tail wing
2,000
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65
Initial Jobs
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: 7,
$229,370 $269,737
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Capital Investment Per Job
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600 67 525 | | | | | | | | |
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Initial Investment
150
– BMW
parallels are enormous, and I think they are exactly on point.” Hitt was the manager of corporate affairs for BMW Manufacturing Co. in Spartanburg before he became Commerce secretary. Haley also mentions BMW when talking about the potential for an expansion of the aviation industry in South Carolina. Haley said the automotive company’s success in the Upstate is one reason other auto companies look at the Palmetto State. In a 2010 report, economic development consultants Miley & Associates tracked BMWs impact on South Carolina since 1992 and then used those growth statistics to estimate Boeing’s impact on the Palmetto State by 2027 if the aerospace giant follows BMW’s trajectory. At first, Hitt said, BMW had 600 to 700 employees and made 30,000 cars each year. Across the state, about 20,000 people worked in the auto industry at the time.
products, said Heather Simmons Jones, outgoing president of the South Carolina Economic Developers’ Association. “Having Boeing kind of gives us the good manufacturers’ seal of approval,” Jones said. “It reinforces the same statements that were made when BMW chose us in the ’90s and Michelin chose South Carolina in the ’70s. You start adding all those up, it’s a strong message.” North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said Boeing’s facilities here raise South Carolina’s profile in the business world. “It makes them look and say this is an area we need to consider,” Summey said. “The South quite honestly (was) never considered a great place for manufacturing, but now it is.” Summey and Haley said the period from Boeing’s breaking ground to rolling out its first Dreamliner proves that South Carolina builds things well, another marketable trait. Workers finished the final assembly facility early and without any accidents causing construction workers to lose job time. Then Boeing employees finished the first Dreamliner within the time frame allotted to them. “This workforce has really pulled this off,” Boeing’s Jones said. “Everybody made this happen.” Employees are assembling three additional Dreamliners now, and the company is shooting to be producing its quota — 3.5 airplanes each month — by the end of 2013 or early 2014, Jones said. Boeing has more than 800 orders for the Dreamliner. “I think that not only says a lot to Boe-
Top s peed for
BMW X6
Speed in MPH
Source: Miley & Associates Inc., Boeing Co., BMW
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The first 787 Dreamliner rolled from the Boeing Co. final assembly facility in late The Boeing Co.’s roughly 6,000 employees turned out for the rollout. A high April with decals that would be removed for the first flight. (Photos/Leslie Burden) school marching band escorted them to the final assembly facility.