Boeing Chooses Alabama Over O.C. for Rocket Plant

Despite pressure from public officials to expand its operations in Southern California, the Boeing Co. said Tuesday that it will build its Delta IV rocket manufacturing plant in Decatur, Ala.

The giant Seattle aerospace company said it chose Decatur for its 2-million-square-foot plant, which will employ up to 3,000 workers, because the city provided the most cost-effective site.

The new plant will build the common booster core for the latest version of the Delta rockets in a competition for the $1.4-billion Air Force development contract, part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program designed to provide low-cost launch services.

But the company sees “a growing commercial satellite market with a need for Delta IV-type rockets in 2001,” said Gale Schluter, a Boeing executive.

Among the cities losing out was Huntington Beach, where Boeing operates its Space & Defense Systems unit. Boeing acquired the unit as well as a chance to win the Air Force contract with its purchase of McDonnell Douglas Corp. in August.

Orange County officials along with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) had tried to persuade Boeing to build the plant in Huntington Beach.

“We had hoped for the plant, but we have to be reasonable that in Southern California, we don’t compete as well for manufacturing jobs with right-to-work states that offer more tax incentives and have a lower cost of living,” said Stan Oftelie, executive director of the Orange County Business Council.

Boxer, who sent a letter to McDonnell Douglas’ chief executive last spring, was “very disappointed” at the company’s announcement, said Matthew Kagan, her senior policy advisor.

While Boxer still believes Southern California is the “best location to manufacture the booster core,” Kagan said, she is confident that Boeing and the Southern California aerospace industry will benefit from the Air Force program.

The Huntington Beach unit will be playing a major role in developing the Delta IV. It will be the engineering and primary fabrication site for the new rocket and will undergo a $25-million plant expansion to handle the much larger parts on the Delta IV, said Boeing spokeswoman Anne Toulouse.

In addition, Boeing will dedicate 1,200 engineers to the project, mostly current employees who will be transferring from the space station project as that gets ready to launch next year, she said.

“We have about 200 job openings for engineers, and because we need them now, they may be all new positions,” Toulouse said.

More important, she said, the Delta IV project will provide continuing employment for a longer period than the space station project. In recent months, the unit’s employment in general has grown from 5,600 to 6,000, she said.