Q&A with Marco Cavazzoni, vice president and general manager of final assembly and delivery at Boeing Charleston.

The point man for South Carolina's new 787 plant is Marco Cavazzoni, who this month was named vice president and general manager of final assembly and delivery at Boeing Charleston.

In a trait that befits an aviation executive, Cavazzoni is a globetrotter, having lived in four countries before relocating to the United States. Among his stopovers: Spoleto, Italy, which is best known locally as the inspiration for Charleston's world-renowned Spoleto Festival USA.

Cavazzoni also speaks four languages: Italian, French, English and Spanish -- and is a former world-ranked swimmer for the Canadian national team.

As an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, he majored in electrical engineering. He went on to earn a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Concordia University in Montreal and a doctorate in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University.

His previous job at Boeing was as vice president of technical services for the company's commercial aviation services division. He also has worked in various management roles on the C-17 program.

Cavazzoni took some time after the groundbreaking festivities Friday to field some questions from The Post and Courier.

Question: We've heard a lot of talk about the quality of the workforce in South Carolina and whether it's capable of building Boeing planes. What are your thoughts?

Answer: I think it's a very enthusiastic workforce. I think the attitude, which is a huge parameter in the workforce, is really outstanding. I think the willingness to learn is also outstanding. What we've seen is the ability to attract the local talent and be able to see the quality of work in a fairly short period of time that is actually produced by the workforce as a key element. We really have a lot of work to do. It's a great celebration, but it's a lot of work to be done in a pretty short period of time until we deliver our first airplane.

What will you be looking for in employees?

I think the first thing we are going to look for is their attitude and values, which are really important. From a skills perspective, I think it's going to be a mixture. We will look at people that already have skills coming in and people actually that we will train to ensure that we build the best airplanes in the world.

The state with its incentive package said the project should bring 3,800 jobs to the site within seven years. How many jobs does Boeing say it will produce at this site?

This initial phase, if you look at mechanics that will be on the floor, will be a thousand or so. That will continue, but there's not only those jobs, but there's a lot of support jobs and so on. So, we look forward to this being a long-term pledge that will last not only seven years but 10, 20, 30, 40 years. All 3,800 jobs are 787-related.

What is your hiring schedule?

We're coming up with a plan right now. You can appreciate supplying for the building, supplying for the training, supplying for the tooling. I think it will be two or three months before we have an exact understanding of what type of skill set we will require and the numbers associated with that.

How many existing positions will be transferred from other areas to Charleston?

Our intent is to develop the local community and the local workforce. I think, as we start up, there are some people that we will need to draw from, whether it be from Seattle or frankly in the aerospace industry in general. The focus is really going to be with the local community. Even at the beginning, we would like to have the most amount of local talent that we possibly can.

What will the jobs pay?

I don't have that information right now. Typically aerospace is a good business. It's good wages with good benefits.

Will building a second assembly plant require your suppliers to double their output?

As part of our overall plan to achieve 10 airplanes a month, from where suppliers are right now, there is a ramp up to get to 10 a month. That's really the plan. We will do a portion of those 10 a month.

Are you concerned about the union trying to reorganize here once the plant is finished?

I think our focus is to provide an environment where employees feel that they not only contribute but where their opinion and their input counts. So what we are going to focus on is having an employee involvement program that really draws from the input that employees give us in order to make this the best possible manufacturing plant that we possibly can. I think that's going to be the key. Once you achieve that and there is alignment, then that's going to be the strength of this facility. Communication is a big piece of it. Not only that they understand what the plan is and where they fit on the map, but also being able to draw people in production to do the work. They are the ones who have the ideas. Everybody runs the business of running their household, so we want to make sure that when our employees come here, we don't turn that off. So that level of entrepreneurship is welcomed and fostered in the work place rather than not. If we do that, this is going to be the world's premier plant for airplane building. That is going to be our goal.

What makes moving to Charleston attractive to you?

What is not attractive about moving here! The environment, the people are just unbelievable. When you step off the airplane, it's like a breath of fresh air. You are getting oxygen. It's not only important to me, but to my family. We came over here, and they had the same feeling. This is a match.