By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On Tuesday, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) joined several other governors when he submitted Alabama’s incentive package to American aviation giant, Boeing, for the new 777x airliner factory. Alabama has proposed locating the factory in the Huntsville area which is already a research and manufacturing hub for the aerospace industry. Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions (R) praised state and local officials for their efforts in attempting to craft a deal with Boeing.
Senator Jeff Sessions said in a written statement, “I am pleased to hear that Governor Bentley has submitted Alabama’s proposal to build the Boeing 777x jetliner in Huntsville. Huntsville has an exceptional workforce and is rightfully on Boeing’s short list of destinations. The Huntsville region is already a leader in our nation’s defense and has the capable engineers, analysts, and production workers necessary to be a world renowned center for aerospace aviation. Boeing has a solid foundation and established partnership in Huntsville and I am proud of the hard work by state and local officials to push for the 777x facility which will reportedly add 8,500 jobs and serve as an important pillar of the economy in north Alabama.”
Alabama Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead said, “We all recently learned Huntsville might soon be home to yet another major airline plant. Boeing is seeking a location for a new 777X plant and Alabama was the first stop on their list.”
The Alabama Congressional delegation released a joint statement supportive of Gov. Bentley’s effort to land Boeing, “Huntsville is a world leader in aerospace and aviation innovation, and Alabama’s workforce is second to none.There is simply no better place for Boeing to locate its new 777X design, manufacturing, fabrication, and assembly operations. We commend the city and state for so aggressively pursuing this economic development opportunity and stand ready to support these efforts in any way possible.”
Bentley has made improving the jobs situation in the state a priority. His biggest success to this point has been luring Aerospace Giant Airbus’s airliner assembly plant to Mobile. If Boeing locates the 777X plant to Huntsville it would cement Alabama’s position as one of the premier aerospace manufacturing and research destinations in the world complementing the state’s role as the premiere auto manufacturing home in the Southeast. Governor Bentley (R) has said that the state’s proposal is competitive.
