Aircraft parts supplier to bring 1,037 jobs to Global TransPark

KINSTON, N.C. — The Global TransPark, created with great fanfare in 1991 and branded as a boondoggle by critics almost immediately thereafter, finally has the anchor tenant that could turn the project into a job-creation machine for eastern North Carolina.

In a meeting at the GTP’s training center Wednesday morning, the Golden LEAF approved a $100 million grant to help land Spirit AeroSystems at the GTP.

Minutes later, the state’s Economic Investment Committee approved a 12-year contract with Spirit for the project. Spirit said it would create 1,037 jobs and invest more than $570 million in the airliner parts manufacturing plant.

Jobs will pay an average of $48,122 annually, compared with the average yearly wage of $27,042 in Lenoir County.

"It will be good for the local economy. A lot of people are looking for jobs here, right now," local resident Scott Clark said. "They are hard to find in Lenoir County. With the Global TransPark, it's about time we got something here."

If Spirit creates and maintains the jobs, the state will rebate to the company $20.23 million in payroll taxes as part of a Job Development Investment Grant.

Gov. Mike Easley also awarded Spirit a $5 million One North Carolina Fund grant. Such grants require at least a match from local governments and other agencies.

At a news conference, Easley said the Spirit agreement “silenced” critics of the TransPark. “Today, North Carolina becomes an aerospace center not just in the United States but the world,” Easley added.

"If we're smart and we continue to invest in our work force and we continue to have the best business climate in the country, then, I tell you today's announcement is only the tip of the iceberg for Spirit and their partners," Easley said.

Golden LEAF, formally known as the Long-term Economic Advancement Foundation, oversees some $700 million awarded to North Carolina as part of a nationwide lawsuit settlement with tobacco companies concerning health costs linked to smoking. The Rocky Mount-based foundation funds economic development projects in rural North Carolina.

The funds, which represent the largest grant made by Golden LEAF, will be used to build the facility that Spirit will use.

“The State of North Carolina met our requirements for financial incentives and this location offers a strong industrial base, a runway and port access, a growing labor force and an excellent technical training system,” said Spirit Chief Executive Officer Jeff Turner. “Additionally, the Global TransPark facility provided what we were looking for in a site.”

The GTP, which has received some $80 million in state and federal funding over the years, has 12 tenants, including some state agencies. About 365 people work at the GTP.

Earlier Wednesday, Spirit signed an agreement with Airbus to design and produce a major composite fuselage structure for the A350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) program.

Spirit will design and manufacture the Section 15 center fuselage frame section, a composite structure that will be approximately 65 feet long and 20 feet wide and will weigh nearly 9,000 pounds.

Accommodating this and other new work packages led to Spirit’s announced plans to expand its operations with a new facility in North Carolina.

WRAL.com confirmed Tuesday that Spirit AeroSystems would make the announcement. The Kinston Free Press first reported the possibility of the GTP project on Saturday.

North Carolina has competed for several aviation projects over the years, offering the GTP as a potential site. Among them were a FedEx hub that went to the Triad and a Boeing manufacturing plant that went to the state of Washington.

North Carolina offered more than $500 million in incentives in its attempt to win the Boeing plant.

The GTP covers 2,400 acres and includes an 11,500-foot runway.

Spirit (NYSE: SPR) is based in Wichita, Kan. The company reported more than $1 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2008 and has a backlog in orders of more than $27 billion. It employs some 14,000 people.

Primary areas of focus for manufacturing include fuselages, under-wing components, composites, wings and spares/repairs

The company was formed in 2005 when Boeing sold the business unit around which Spirit AeroSystems was formed to Onex Corp. Spirit also operates two facilities in Oklahoma, one in Scotland and one in England.