June 10, 2005
EADS North America is nearing the final choice of a location for the KC-330 advanced tanker’s U.S. industrial facility, with an announcement of the winner from four candidate locations expected on June 22.
The selected site is to become the center of activity for the KC-330 – which EADS North America is offering in the U.S. Air Force’s recapitalization of its in-flight refueling fleet. The facility will begin as a new Airbus Engineering Center in the United States, with operations starting in early 2006 and an employment totaling approximately 150 persons.
The selection process – which was launched last January – has been stepped up to align EADS North America’s industrial activities with the potential acquisition schedule of the U.S. Air Force. Vying for the KC-330 industrial center location are Mobile Downtown Airport, Mobile, Alabama; Melbourne International Airport, Melbourne, Florida; Stennis International Airport, Kiln, Mississippi; and Charleston International Airport, North Charleston, South Carolina.
As part of the final evaluation process, a team of representatives from EADS North America, EADS North America Defense, Airbus and Airbus North America visited the four different finalist sites in a five-day period in May. Also taking part in the tour were personnel from the Staubach Company – the national real estate firm that is managing the site selection process for EADS North America.
At each stop, the 23-member team met with local, regional and state officials for briefings on the candidate sites, followed by visits to the proposed locations. The team then divided into working groups based on key criteria for the site selection: infrastructure, transportation and quality of life. This allowed for in-depth discussions on each site’s capabilities, and enabled the candidate locations to respond to specific questions based on a checklist of items prepared by the team.
When the Air Force’s tanker program competition is officially launched, EADS North America intends to offer the KC-330 advanced tanker in an American industrial team to meet the military service’s next-generation in-flight refueling requirements. The company previously announced that it will team with U.S. industrial partners, and has committed to developing outfitting, assembly and support facilities in the United States that could eventually employ more than 1,100 persons.
