Limehouse optimistic on Boeing

COLUMBIA -- South Carolina is offering Boeing Co. a deal too good to pass up, Charleston Rep. Chip Limehouse said Thursday, adding that he's confident the state will land a second assembly line for the Dreamliner airliner with the aircraft manufacturing giant.

"We are poised for one of the major economic boons our country has ever seen," said Limehouse, a Republican. "This is going to be our gold rush, if it happens."

While Boeing spokeswoman Candy Eslinger said the company has not made a decision about where a second line will be located, Limehouse said he can see very little reason why the company wouldn't come here.

Boeing has said it would consider North Charleston, among other sites, for a new 787 assembly plant. A decision is expected by the end of the year.

Limehouse said South Carolina is an attractive choice because of the quality of life it offers, the business climate, work force training initiatives and state legislators and agencies willing to offer tax incentives, infrastructure improvements and other measures to meet the company's needs.

Another very significant selling point is that South Carolina is a right-to-work state with a low union presence, he said.

Unions have delayed production at the company's existing factory near Seattle. Meanwhile, unionized Boeing workers in North Charleston voted this month to dercertifiy the 2007 vote that made them members of the International Association of Machinists.

Limehouse said he has not received any official word from the company that it has made a decision about the expansion, but he has the credentials to be in the know.

Limehouse is an influential member of the House Ways and Means Committee, serves on the Charleston County Aviation Authority and holds seats on the State Infrastructure Bank Board and Joint Bond Review Committee.

In late July, Boeing bought the former Vought Aircraft fuselage plant in a $1 billion deal. It now operates a 787 fuselage factory near Charleston International Airport.

The local plant makes rear fuselage sections for the 787, a fast-selling, lightweight jet that has been delayed by snags with suppliers as well as an eight-week strike last year.

Limehouse said he and House Speaker Bobby Harrell, also a Charleston Republican, helped put together a tax incentive plan in 2004 and 2005 that originally helped lure Vought and Alenia Aeronautica.

In addition to the existing tax incentives, Limehouse said the state's bonding capabilities make it possible to provide quick commitments for infrastructure improvements such as interstate exchanges.

Rep. Jim Merrill, a Daniel Island Republican, said companies can find great success in South Carolina.

"I think when it comes to Boeing and when it comes to some of the big projects we're pursing, they are indicative of how good we can be when we all work together," he said.

"When we put out best foot forward, I think it would be very hard for a company to go somewhere else unless they were predisposed to do so."

Gov. Mark Sanford recently told The Post and Courier the state is "hopeful and prepared" for a Boeing expansion.

Limehouse said he expects that if Boeing comes, suppliers will soon follow and locate facilities in the Charleston area.

The potential is huge, he said, noting that Boeing's advanced technology could make it a contender for future military contracts.

"It's an economic dynamo," Limehouse said. "We're in for good times. All we need is for Boeing to pull the trigger for building the rest of the aircraft here. We will quickly become a leader in the aerospace industry virtually overnight if that occurs."