For Immediate Release...
May 4, 2009
SITE SELECTION NAMES SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS ANNOUNCEMENT A TOP DEAL OF 2008
NORCROSS, Ga . — The decision by Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. to build a plant at the North Carolina Global TransPark (GTP) in Kinston, N.C. has been named one of 2008's top 10 economic development stories in North America by Site Selection magazine.
Site Selection magazine, a national corporate relocation publication, annually names a group of 10 most meaningful development deals on the continent, viewing all 10 as equal in importance. The magazine also includes 10 other honorable mention economic developments in North America .
Adam Bruns, managing editor of Site Selection, commented, “The Top Deals of the year represent high-investment, job-creating corporate facility projects fought for by multiple territories.”
Bruns added, “Among the aspects we evaluate are the degree of high-value jobs, creativity in negotiations and incentives, regional economic impact, competition for the project and speed to market. These are game-changing projects for many of the communities in which they land.”
It is the second such recognition afforded the Spirit development in recent weeks. Southern Business & Development magazine recently chose the GTP/Spirit deal as the sixth-most prominent economic development story in the U.S. South during 2008.
Spirit, headquartered in Wichita , Kan. , is the world's largest independent supplier of commercial airplane assemblies and components. It is now building a 500,000 square foot manufacturing facility at the GTP following its September, 2008 groundbreaking.
The new plant will accommodate the design and manufacture of the center fuselage frame section for the Airbus A350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) commercial aircraft.
Dan Wheeler, Spirit vice president and general manager for North Carolina , commented, “We have been very pleased with our new partners at the Global TransPark and throughout North Carolina . Development of both the site and A350 program are progressing well.”
Spirit won a contract in the spring of 2008 to design and produce the A350's composite fuselage section, which will be approximately 65 feet long, 20 feet wide and weigh nearly 9,000 pounds. This part will be manufactured in Kinston beginning in 2010, along with front spars for the A350's wings.
Spirit's plans, first announced by former Governor Mike Easley last May, call for investment of more than $570.5 million and the creation of 1,031 jobs over a six-year period, beginning in 2010.
“We believe that the coming of Spirit AeroSystems to the GTP will make the TransPark the recognized aerospace address for both our Eastern North Carolina region and the rest of the state,” said Darlene Waddell, executive director of the Global TransPark.
A $100 million grant from the non-profit Golden LEAF Foundation to the Global TransPark Authority helped make the project possible, along with grants from the One North Carolina Fund and the state's Job Development Investment Grant program.
About Site Selection Magazine
Site Selection magazine, published by Conway Data, Inc., is the official publication of the Industrial Asset Management Council. The magazine delivers expansion planning information to more than 44,000 executives. Site Selection is available in a bimonthly print magazine, or on its web site at www.siteselection.com .
###
Contact:
Alanna King
Marketing & Communications Manager
North Carolina Global TransPark
(252) 522-4929 ext. 719
aking@ncgtp.com
-30-
