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The sky is not the limit
Aeronautics cluster has much to build on in South Carolina
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
For Jack Ellenberg, South Carolina’s director of global business development, the sky is definitely not the limit when it comes to building a significant cluster of aeronautic businesses in the state.
“In many respects, South Carolina has a long history in aviation, and many of the major players already have a presence here, ranging from Lockheed, GE and Michelin Aircraft Tire Co. in the Upstate to the defense contractors working with the U.S. Air Force in Charleston,” he said.
“Obviously, with the production facilities related to the construction of the Boeing 787 opening in North Charleston this year, we’re doing all we can to try to capitalize on the excitement it’s generating and enticing more aeronautic companies to locate here.”
Ellenberg experienced that excitement first-hand as a member of the South Carolina delegation working this year’s Farnborough International Air Show. This was the third year he has attended the show, which alternates between Farnborough, about 30 miles southwest of London, and Paris.
It was also the second year in a row that the S.C. Chamber of Commerce invited economic developers from the Lowcountry to participate.
“Interest in the 787 project was certainly evident throughout the week-long event, and that was tremendously satisfying,” he said. “When we went after the Vought and Global Aeronautica plant, we placed a bet on which major aviation project was going to be successful and we won with the Boeing program.”
The plant, whose two buildings are located directly across a parking lot from each other adjacent to Charleston International Airport, is a joint venture between Dallas-based Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. and Italy’s Alenia Aeronautica.
The partnership will assemble two major sections of the 787’s fuselage at the North Charleston facility, although the planes will be completed at a Boeing facility in Everett, Wash. The plant here is currently scheduled to deliver its first fuselage to Boeing in April 2007.
Based on the interest in the project at Farnborough, Ellenberg said the state chamber of commerce is talking to a number of companies about locating facilities here.
“The 787 project really represents a golden opportunity for communities throughout South Carolina, because given the geographical size of our state, and depending on the role its playing in the project, a supplier could be located anywhere within our borders,” he said.
“But we’re not just limiting our discussion to companies with a stake in the 787 project,” Ellenberg added. “What was also so evident at Farnborough was how large an industry aeronautics is, and the breadth of opportunities that are out there.
“It’s commercial aviation, civilian aviation, defense-oriented work, software applications, satellites … There are a whole range of programs we can be a part of.”
Ellenberg said he and his staff are pursuing several potential projects stemming from the air show.
But like Charleston County’s J. Steven Dykes and the Charleston Regional Development Alliance’s Heywood Horton, Ellenberg said he believes South Carolina’s work force, and not a sales job by economic developers, will be the ultimate determinant of how successful the Lowcountry’s aviation cluster will be.
“Frankly, I think the most valuable incentive we can offer these companies is our worker-training program through the state’s technical college system,” Ellenberg said.
Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.
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