Boeing wants to sell plant to someone who would continue operations

Posted 8:31AM on Thursday 21st March 2002 ( 23 years ago )

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - The Boeing Co. says it will try to sell its Spokane manufacturing plant to someone who will continue to operate it. The company has received numerous offers for the plant and anticipates serious negotiations this summer, Mary Armstrong, vice president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said Wednesday. Boeing is looking for a purchaser that will serve as a long-term supplier of parts needed at its Everett and Renton plants, and would consider an employee buyout, Armstrong said. ``This plant has performed really well for us and we have no intention of moving out of town and not taking care of the people who have worked really hard for us,'' she said after briefing employees. Boeing will look at potential buyers who would bring in additional business, continue good relations with employees and unions and be good corporate citizens, Armstrong said. In addition to a long-term commitment from Boeing for its products, the plant's buyer would be able to sell to other aircraft manufacturers, she noted. The plant, west of the city near Spokane International Airport, employs about 500 people who make air conditioning ducts, floor panels and cockpit shields for commercial airliners. Boeing officials announced last fall they would study closure or sales of several plants as a cost-cutting measure in response to worldwide airplane sales lost since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Boeing also announced then that it intended to lay off 30,000 employees because of the downturn in sales. About 50 employees were laid off last fall at the Spokane plant. When the company began studying the economics of selling or closing the plant, Boeing said its strategy was to get out of the parts business and concentrate on assembling and selling jetliners. U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., in whose district the plant is located, threatened to avenge any closure by voting against Boeing interests as a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both D-Wash., visited the Spokane plant and pledged to lobby Boeing officials to keep it open. Murray and Nethercutt met with Boeing officials Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Boeing was expected to announce its decision in February, but acknowledged it took longer because of the political pressure. Plant manager Sue Grimm has said the company's study of the plant's value would conclude that it was competitive with other floor panel suppliers, but less favorable when compared to duct manufacturers. The Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce has estimated the plant contributes $85 million a year to the Spokane area's economy.

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