Airbus picks Mobile, Ala. for new factory, sources say

Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | 9:32 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The parent company of European aircraft maker Airbus has selected Mobile, Ala., over three other Southern sites for a $600 million tanker refueling factory, the Associated Press has learned.

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. selected the Alabama site over three rival bids from Melbourne, Fla.; Kiln, Miss.; and North Charleston, S.C., a congressional source and an Alabama source familiar with the industry recruiting project said Tuesday.

The decision was to be announced today at a news conference in Washington. The sources would not speak for attribution because they did not want to trump the formal announcement by EADS North America.

Officials at the company did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

But during a recent visit to a proposed site near Charleston International Airport, the head of the company's defense division said the contract would be a boon. If the company gets part of a military contract to manufacture KC-330 tankers, the winning community could land as many as 1,000 jobs.

"You're bringing in a whole bunch of top-level jobs. It was our opinion we did not want it to appear as if we cut some deal," said David Oliver Jr., chief executive for EADS North American Defense.