A Win-Win Opportunity
Opinion editorial by Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson
The excitement and celebration following the July 2 Airbus announcement has certainly boosted morale for citizens throughout our Gulf Coast Region. The impact of this major aerospace operation at the Brookley Aeroplex positions Mobile County as one of the world’s elite aircraft manufacturing hubs, and will be a significant engine for job creation – both direct and indirect – throughout our region. According to a recent article in Aviation Week & Space Technology, “Besides the 1,000 factory jobs, the facility is expected to generate another 2,000 positions with local suppliers and 3,200 for its construction.”
This is a “win-win” business opportunity. It’s important to note that the agreement that we negotiated with Airbus is based on a business model that forecasts tremendous sales growth in the North American market. Currently, the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, which will be assembled at Brookley, is the top selling single-aisle commercial jet in the world. Widely sold throughout Europe and Asia, the A320 aircraft family currently has only 17% of the market share in North America. That market share is one that Airbus will be positioned to increase when jet assembly moves to the U.S.
Airbus suppliers, who manufacture everything from aircraft windshields to wing flaps, are also being actively recruited by representatives from the State of Alabama, Mobile County, the City of Mobile, The Mobile Airport Authority, the Chamber of Commerce, and our federal representatives. The recent Farnborough International Air Show presented an excellent opportunity for us to meet with many of these aircraft suppliers to extol the cost-saving benefits of locating operations in Mobile near the future Airbus assembly plant. While such business decisions often take time to negotiate, we believe that our opportunities are very good to recruit some of these major supplier industries.
The local Airbus incentive package certainly makes good business sense for the Mobile area. Both Mobile County and the City of Mobile offered equal incentive packages of $14.5 million each to be paid over 19 years. We believe that the cost-benefit value of our package is excellent and will pay for itself many times over in generations to come. Besides the value of new business coming to Mobile, our team of local representatives also negotiated with Airbus to ensure that all opportunities for local contractors and subcontractors to obtain work would be published and announced. By agreement, Airbus will work through the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce to provide notification of job opportunities to potential local vendors.
Compared to the Air Force refueling tanker first proposed for Mobile in 2005, the Airbus proposal for commercial jet production offers some clear advantages. The A320 commercial aircraft will be produced at a rate of 4 per month versus the 1 ½ planes which were anticipated with the previous refueling tanker project. Also, we now have a commercial enterprise that is not dependent on fluctuating defense department budgets. Seven years of intense efforts to land large aircraft manufacturing in Mobile has reminded us that good things do come to those who wait and sometimes disappointments may actually turn out to be blessings in disguise.
Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson currently serves as a member of the Alabama State Republican Executive Committee, the Mobile County Republican Executive Committee and the Azalea City Republican Women. She has been an active member of the Mobile community for over 30 years with extensive public service experience.