Boeing meets with Charleston minority business leaders

Just weeks after officially breaking ground at the soon-to-be built 787 Dreamliner assembly in North Charleston, decision-makers from Boeing Co. wrapped up a two-day trip to the Charleston area to fill their contact lists with names of local businesses, possible suppliers and future construction workers who could help build  plant.

In this economic recession, and especially in the state of South Carolina, the level of interest was mutual.

Tuesday’s meeting at the Charleston Area Convention Center drew nearly 3,000 local construction industry workers, while Boeing executives spoke Wednesday in North Charleston to about 80 Charleston-area business leaders at the Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council.

The visit was another step Boeing is taking in an effort to incorporate itself into the local business community, displaying a serious commitment to the state. And many company leaders and workers left hopeful that they could one day work with the Chicago-based aviation giant, which farms out up to 70 percent of its business and buys everything from rocket engines to pencils.

“We are certain that there’s existing companies that have the capabilities, the requirements and qualifications to be good Boeing suppliers, and it’s our job to seek out those suppliers and help them get integrated into the procurement process,” said Joan Robinson-Berry, the company’s director of strategic work placement, supplier management and integrated defense systems.

State Sen. Robert Ford, a Charleston Democrat who is running for governor, has urged state legislators who were involved in recruiting Boeing to do all they could to make sure South Carolina minorities have a fair shot at the jobs and contracting opportunities the aeronautics giant will create. He made similar points in an Oct. 30 letter sent to Boeing Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney.

“This is a whole lot of tax dollars, and a whole lot of black people pay a whole lot of tax dollars,” Ford said at the time, referring to the $450 million incentive package that helped lure the 787 plant to North Charleston. “I am sure Boeing is a fair company, but we don’t want to wait until the last minute to find out.”

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