Boeing Archives - Missourinet

Governor Parson hopes to see Boeing use more Missouri suppliers

February 13, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

(News director Andrew Pitkin from Missourinet Nevada affiliate KNEM contributed to this story)

A growing aerospace company in southwest Missouri’s Nevada hopes to get an opportunity to bid for future contracts with Boeing.

Governor Mike Parson tours the Platinum Aerostructures plant in southwest Missouri’s Nevada on February 11, 2021 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Twitter page)

Governor Mike Parson traveled to Nevada on Thursday to tour the 152,000 square foot Platinum Aerostructures plant, which is located at the junction of I-49 and Highway 54. The plant manufactures airplane parts.

Missourinet Nevada affiliate KNEM reports Platinum executives are asking Governor Parson for help in making a connection to Boeing. The governor tells KNEM that he’d like to see Boeing use more suppliers from the Show-Me State.

“We know this company is tied to Boeing and that they do a lot of products, so how can we expand that business and maybe for Boeing to utilize maybe more Missouri companies, much like some of the things we did with General Motors, when General Motors we expanded there (Wentzville). They (GM) have about 1,200 affiliate companies in Missouri that supply their parts,” Parson says.

Platinum is a certified gold rated manufacturer, and they currently have 35 full-time employees in Nevada.

“I think one, we’ll probably try to reach out to Boeing, talk to them kind of explain to them how important it is to do what they can do to make sure we’re taking care of Missouri business, and I understand Boeing is a huge company all over the world, but I also understand that they can help other companies within our own state,” Parson tells KNEM.

Governor Parson also toured Nevada’s 3M plant on Thursday. The governor says Missouri has several 3M facilities, with more than 1,600 employees. Parson praises Nevada’s 3M plant, saying it’s considered the company’s manufacturing center of excellence.

Nevada, a town of about 8,300 residents, is the county seat of Vernon County.

Nixon statement on Missouri not landing Boeing project

January 4, 2014 By Mike Lear

Governor Jay Nixon is presenting a positive message in response to the news that Missouri will not be the site for construction of the Boeing 777X airliner.

Governor Jay Nixon

In a statement, Nixon thanks, “the members of the General Assembly, our community colleges and our partners in business, labor and government for putting together a nationally recognized proposal that made Missouri one of the finalists for production of the Boeing 777X.”

Nixon says the efforts by those groups, “demonstrated once again that with an outstanding business climate, strong schools and a highly skilled workforce, Missouri is ready to compete in the 21st century global economy.”

He also noted a recent decision by Boeing to bring 700 research and technology jobs to St. Louis, and called that, “proof positive that Missouri is a top destination for high-tech jobs and investment.” Nixon adds, “I look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with this global aerospace leader and building on this solid foundation of growth.”

Washington State union vote means Boeing airliner won’t be built in Missouri

January 4, 2014 By Mike Lear

No part of the Boeing 777X airliner will be built in Missouri.

Boeing’s 777-9X

That’s after a machinists union in Washington State voted last night to accept a contract that will see the plane and its composite wing built there. The vote ends the bid by Missouri and several other states to bring production of at least part of the plane to sites within their borders.

The state legislature met in special session last month and approved a 1.7-billion dollar expansion of existing tax incentives for Boeing if it had chosen to build the plane in St. Louis. St. Louis County pledged another 1.8-billion in tax breaks.

Missouri leaders projected assembly of the 777X would have brought as many as 8,000 jobs to the St. Louis region and perhaps tens of thousands more jobs throughout the state.

The Washington union had rejected an earlier contract proposal from Boeing because of changes it made to pensions and health care benefits. It was that rejection in November that lead to Missouri and as many as 22 other states scrambling to win the project. The union’s vote Friday to adopt the new contract was a narrow 51-percent to 49-percent.

SPECIAL SESSION: Boeing incentive bill goes to Governor Nixon

December 6, 2013 By Mike Lear

The state legislature has sent Governor Jay Nixon everything he wants in an incentive package to try to get Boeing to build its 777X airliner.

Legislators discuss how to deal with a clerical error regarding the Boeing incentive bill. (Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

At least, that’s what House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) believes.

“It’s my understanding that Governor Nixon agrees that everything that he requested was placed into the Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1 that we have now truly agreed and finally passed to his desk.”

Jones has signed that bill and says Senate Leader Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles) will be doing the same today. A staffer with Governor Nixon’s Office says it will review the bill as it would any other before offering comment or taking action.

“The ball is put back in his court to put Missouri’s best foot forward,” Jones says of Nixon.

The legislation extends for Boeing limits on four economic development programs, translating to an offer of up to 1.7-billion in tax incentives. Nixon hopes that, combined with local incentives and agreements by Union leaders and community colleges in the state, will get Boeing to create as many as 8,000 jobs in Missouri.

Missouri and at least 12 other states must submit offers to Boeing by Tuesday. Jones thinks Boeing will not make selections until some time in January.

While the House discussed that bill today, it was learned that part of an amendment offered by Senator Brad Lager (R-Savannah) was omitted in the copy it received from the Senate due to an error by Senate staff.

Majority Floor Leader John Diehl (R-Town and Country) explained to legislators how leadership intended to fix the problem in a way that it thought was transparent, starting with distributing to the representatives a copy that matched what was in the chamber’s journal.

“The journals are all correct … we’re going to ask the members to vote on a resolution acknowledging that everybody here understands that this is what we’re going to be voting on and third read in a few minutes.”

The fix was endorsed by Representative Jeff Roorda (D-Barnhart), who on the House floor told Diehl, “I think the record is clear that there is probably nobody in the room that is more likely to call you if you’ve got it wrong on procedural stuff (than me). I’m not here to do that today.”

Diehl says such problems are not uncommon, but leadership felt the resolution was necessary since lawmakers were dealing with only one bill in the special session, creating greater scrutiny on that one measure.

He says the Governor’s staff was involved in the discussion of that error and was comfortable with the fix.

A legislative staffer says there is also legal precedent establishing that an error by legislative staff can not impact the passage of legislation.

SPECIAL SESSION: Boeing incentive debate shifts to House

December 6, 2013 By Mike Lear

The House today debates the Senate’s version of a bill that offers up to 1.7-billion over 23 years to Boeing if it will build its 777X airliner in Missouri.

St. Charles representative Anne Zerr is carrying the Boeing incentive proposal in the House.

If the bill, Senate Bill 1, clears the House without changes that would essentially end the special session Governor Jay Nixon called so lawmakers could consider his proposal. Jason Zamkus with the Governor’s Office told the House Economic Devlopment Committee the bill “absolutely” gives the Governor everything he wanted from the legislature in order to make a pitch to Boeing.

Lawmakers have been relying on Nixon to tell them what Boeing says it wants from the state in which it will build the 777X.

Follow House debate of the Boeing incentive bill on Twitter by following @molegislature.

The bill would extend the limits on four economic development programs for Boeing, and require the aerospace company to report annually on the hiring and training of minorities and women, a check in 10 years of the state’s benefit from the deal and would make sure tax increment financing dollars go only to Boeing and not Lambert Airport.

Representative Anne Zerr (R-St. Charles) is carrying the bill in the House. She says what the legislature has put together since Monday is remarkable.

“It shows that we’re eager, we’re willing and we can step up to the plate,” Zerr says. “Quite frankly this is unprecedented. We’ve got both chambers working together, both sides of the aisle working together, we’ve got the Governor working with us, we’ve got labor working with us, and I think that shows that we can get something done.”

If the House passes the bill it could be signed by the leaders of both the House and the Senate and delivered to the Governor today. Missouri is competing with a least 12 other states for 777X production. All offers are due to Boeing by Tuesday.

SPECIAL SESSION: Labor leaders back Boeing incentives

December 4, 2013 By Mike Lear

Labor groups in Missouri have been among those expressing support for the legislative effort to bring production of a Boeing commercial airliner to Missouri.

St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley (left) and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay were among those that testified to two legislative committees in support of Boeing incentives.

Jeff Aboussie, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the St. Louis Building Trades is among those that testified in hearings for both the Senate and House Economic Development committees about legislation proposed by Governor Jay Nixon, that would offer Boeing $150-million in incentives to build the 777X in Missouri.

Nixon earlier in the day announced that St. Louis-area construction labor councils had agreed to a round-the-clock work schedule, without overtime, while a facility is constructed to produce the 777X. Aboussie told lawmakers the building trades groups understood that construction time is of the essence for Boeing, and says that work schedule would benefit the workers those groups represent.

“The building trades proposal was to work an accelerated schedule and take a project that could last up to five years and reduce that time to two years and nine months … that has definitely an economic impact on our region,” Aboussie testified. “Right now we have approximately 25-percent unemployment in the construction trade. We would be putting people back to work, paying taxes, affording homes, sending their kids to schools.”

Mike Lewis, a lobbyist for the Missouri AFL-CIO, addressed concerns by some that there could be an issue for the St. Louis machinists union regarding the Boeing deal. A sister union in the State of Washington rejected pension concessions, prompting Boeing to look outside that state for a site to build the 777X.

Lewis, who represents groups including the International Association of Machinists, told the House committee that after his group learned of the project he contacted the international president of the machinists union.

“Our concern was we didn’t want to get in a bidding war of the machinists union between St. Louis and Seattle,” Lewis said. “They assured us that the package that was offered by Boeing to the Seattle employees was not that much different than what was accepted here in 2012. They told us to go for it. They don’t want to lose this package. They don’t want it to go anywhere else. St. Louis would be a perfect fit and they’re excited about it.”

The House and Senate committees both endorsed the proposal. The Senate will take up the legislation today.

SPECIAL SESSION: Nixon announces agreement with St. Louis labor groups on Boeing offer

December 3, 2013 By Mike Lear

St. Louis-area building trades union leaders have agreed that workers will be available 24/7 with no overtime while building a production facility for the Boeing 777X as part of the effort to bring construction of that airliner to St. Louis County.

Governor Jay Nixon has announced the agreement that includes the Building and Construction Trades Council, the Carpenters District Council of St. Louis and the Eastern Missouri Laborers District Council. The deal would double the number of work hours in a week, triple the workforce available and reduce construction time by at least a year, according to Nixon’s Office.

Nixon and state lawmakers have said construction time is of the essence for Boeing, who has already taken orders for more than 250 of the planes and is behind schedule filling those orders after a deal couldn’t be reached to build them in Washington State. That deal fell through when unions there rejected concessions on pensions.

“Everybody is well aware of what occurred in Washington,” Nixon says.

Nixon says to his knowledge, the agreements have been made by union leaders but union members have not taken a vote on them.

“I am confident [these union leaders] speak for the thousands of construction workers that they represent in this regard.”

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports a more crucial deal would be with the International Association of Machinists Local 837, which represents Boeing assembly line workers in St. Louis. It is a sister to the machinists union in Seattle that last month rejected a contract tied to the 777X plant that prompted Boeing to look for another state in which to build the airliners.

SPECIAL SESSION: Nixon office releases cost-benefit estimates of Boeing proposal

December 3, 2013 By Mike Lear

If Boeing brings production of its 777X airliner to north St. Louis County, the incentives Governor Jay Nixon has proposed could add up to as much as $1.74-billion over 23 years, if the company reaches certain job creation thresholds.

Boeing’s 777-9x

A cost-benefit analysis released by the Governor’s office shows the project would also generate up to $2.9-billion in tax revenue in the same period.

It estimates that if between 2018 and 2040 Boeing has directly created 2,000 jobs it would cost the state more than $435-million in incentives while yielding $264-million in net fiscal benefit. 4,000 jobs created would cost more than $870-million in incentives and yield $550-million in net benefit. 6,000 jobs would cost $1.3-billion in incentives with more than $831-million net benefit and 8,000 new Boeing jobs would cost $1.74-billion in incentives and generate nearly $1.1-billion in net financial benefit.

Nixon’s office believes even a single component of the Boeing 777X project would create more than 2,000 jobs. The estimates assume that by 2018 those jobs would offer an average annual wage of $95,000.

His proposal is to extend the caps on four programs by a combined $150-million per year. Both Nixon and legislative leaders say those programs’ incentives are tied to job creation, meaning nothing will be paid out if no jobs are created.

Senate and House committees will hold hearings on the proposal later today. Lawmakers in both chambers had said a cost-benefit analysis is something they were waiting on as they considered Nixon’s proposal.

SPECIAL SESSION: Boeing tight-lipped about what it wants in Missouri proposal to build 777x

December 2, 2013 By Jessica Machetta

Boeing is keeping its cards close to its vest in the negotiations for an assembly contract with the Boeing plant in St. Louis, the center of this week’s special legislative session called by Gov. Jay Nixon. So close, in fact, the company declined to go on tape or camera to discuss what it’s looking for in anchoring production of the 777x series.

A spokesman for Boeing’s commercial hub in Seattle, Wash., would say only that the company is looking closely at more than a dozen locations to assemble the 777x, but those locations are not being publicly identified. It’s not clear at this point if all of those dozen or more locations are in the United States.

It is clear Missouri is one of those locations, and that it would have preferred to keep production of the commercial aircraft in Washington.

“We approached the union in Seattle with a contract extension that would have secured the assembly, all composite wing, in Puget Sound,” Boeing spokesman Doug Alder tells Missourinet. “That contract extension was voted down.”

He says the 8-year contract extension would have made sense to both Boeing and its customers, who would have been assured a steady supply chain with no threat of a strike.

“Also, in our eyes, it would have been good for workers here,” he said. “It would have sustained thousands of local jobs here through 2022.

Alder says Boeing has a lot of attractive facilities, including the one in St. Louis, “but we’re also looking at all options, outside the company as well. In the end, we’re going to do what makes sense for us to make sure we stay competitive in the marketplace.”

Staying competitive means, among other things, staying ahead of Airbus, based in Blagnac, France.

“We’re looking at our competition, namely Airbus, which is striving to take more and more of the market-share,” he said. “And unless we’re able to offer the best product at a price for our customers, then we’ll be in trouble.”

Alder says that means taking into consideration location, final assembly, work-force needs, supply chain, and more.

Boeing has put out a request for proposals, and Missouri will answer that call when legislators hammer out a deal on corporate tax breaks sometime this week. The deadline to submit a proposal is mid December. Boeing will then make a final decision around the first of the year.
Alder says Missouri could get the bid to produce all or some of the plane.

For instance, he said, if you look at the 737, the fuselage comes by rail from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington. The wings come from Japan.
The company has already promised more than 250 of the planes to four airlines, three of them in the Middle East.

Emirates Airlines, based in Dubai, has ordered 150 of the aircraft. Qatar Airlines and Etihad in Abu Dhabi have ordered 50 and 25 planes, respectively. Germany’s Lufthansa has committed to purchase 34.

Alder says Boeing expects the popularity of the 777x aircraft to grow in both foreign and domestic markets, noting they are designed for an eight-hour flight.

“You can get almost anywhere in the world in eight hours,” he said, “and the 777 is perfect for that.”

The going price per plane for a 777-8x, the smaller version, is $349 million. The 777-9x, which is larger, costs $377 million.

Photos courtesy of Boeing.

House Speaker on special session, Missouri’s chances of landing new Boeing airline assembly (AUDIO)

November 29, 2013 By Mike Lear

Missouri’s House Speaker says Governor Jay Nixon has submitted to the General Assembly a draft of legislation he wants it to consider in the special session he has called that will begin Monday. He has asked the legislature to approve raising caps on four economic development programs in an effort to get Boeing to build its next airliner in St. Louis County.

House Speaker Tim Jones (left) and Governor Jay Nixon.

House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) says he and other lawmakers had asked Nixon to supply them with a blueprint to work with.

Jones tells Missourinet, “We told him that given the immediacy of the timeline, the short timeframe in which to consider this before the December 10 RFP deadline, the fact that he has been the one that has been in the direct negotiations with the Boeing upper management, that he is in the best position to lead on this issue and to describe to us how Missouri can be in the best place to be considered for this contract.”

Jones says he has only seen a draft of the proposal. He believes Nixon has agreed to meet with his caucus Monday afternoon before the special session begins.

“I need to have the Governor come and explain the entire opportunity to my caucus and why he needs this legislation in the first place,” Jones says.”

House Republicans were already scheduled to be at the Capitol Monday for a winter caucus.

The Governor has asked lawmakers to raise caps to allow for up to $150-million annually for large-scale aerospace projects under Missouri Works, Missouri Works training, Missouri BUILD and the Real Property Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act. Jones says under the Governor’s proposal, if Missouri is not awarded the new Boeing project, no state incentives or money would be awarded.

The special session begins Monday afternoon at 4 and Missouri must have a proposal ready for Boeing by December 10. Asked whether that is enough time for legislative action, Jones says, “Mathematically there is probably enough time. Logistically that is going to yet be determined.”

Often each chamber of the legislature will address an issue with its own version of a bill. Both of those could then go through the respective chambers’ committee processes and be passed out of each chamber before differences are hammered out between the two versions.

Jones says the only chance for success before December 10 will be for one chamber to start out with a bill.

“We have not decided which chamber that’s going to begin in yet. That’s a discussion we are still having with Senate leadership.”

Jones says he hasn’t read the Governor’s call for a special session to see whether it is too narrow for other issues to be introduced, but he doesn’t want anything else to be introduced.

“Given the extremely compressed timeframe of … we’re talking a total of less than 10 calendar days, which is far less business days … for an extremely important multi-billion dollar opportunity, I think we should stay focused on the task at hand and the call at hand,” Jones says. “However I understand that with 196 other legislators who will be participating in this process it is probably safe to say that some of those individuals will want to raise other issues.”

Jones says it will be up to leadership in each chamber whether to agree to allow work on other things, but he reiterates he wants to stick to the Boeing incentive issue.

He says the State of Washington lost the 777x project because of its tax and labor policies and conflicts between Boeing and labor unions there. He says Missouri’s own policies will factor into whether it lands the project.

“There are some states being considered that are right-to-work states or that have better relationships with their unions (than Washington). Other states that are being considered have better tax structures (than Washington) … We’re going to probably be in some pretty stiff competition with states that have good policies in those areas.”

Jones and other Republicans are questioning the Governor’s support of an incentive package to bring Boeing to Missouri after rejecting tax cut legislation that the General Assembly failed to override his veto of, in the veto session in September.

“Our Governor decided that he would veto a policy that would give a tax break to all Missouri families, farmers and small businesses. He didn’t feel that such a tax break was appropriate at that time so one of the questions that’s going to have to be answered is, ‘Why is a tax break for this project appropriate at this time?'”

Hear Mike Lear’s interview with Tim Jones (10:27):