Airbus picks Mobile, Ala. for new factory

Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | 11:14 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The parent company of European aircraft maker Airbus, seeking to better compete with Boeing for a lucrative Air Force contract to build military refueling tankers, announced today it has selected Mobile, Ala., over three other Southern sites for a $600 million factory.

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. selected the Alabama site over Melbourne, Fla.; Kiln, Miss.; and North Charleston, S.C.

Ralph D. Crosby, chairman and CEO of EADS North America, said Mobile was chosen because it is "strategically located" on the Gulf of Mexico, and offers a skilled work force, airport runways and a deep-water port. Brookley Industrial Complex provides 4.5 million square feet of industrial space, and includes access to the Mobile downtown airport.

An Airbus engineering center will be built nearby and is expected to open in 2006, the company said.

The Boeing Co., based in Chicago, lost the tanker deal last year after revelations that it had hired a top Air Force acquisitions official who later admitted giving the company preferential treatment.