Washington CEOs to Boeing: Keep 787 Line 2 here

Dear Mr. McNerney: please take note of this.

SEATTLE--(Business Wire)--
A wide group of CEOs and corporate leaders recently sent this letter to Boeing
Commercial Airplanes President & CEO James Albaugh urging the company to site
its second 787 line in Washington state: 

Dear Mr. Albaugh: 

Washington is justifiably proud of the fact that Boeing`s presence here has
firmly established the state as the commercial aerospace capital of the world.
From William Boeing`s original 1916 seaplane, to the 707 that revolutionized
commercial air travel, to today`s innovative 787, Washington has benefited
greatly from Boeing`s tremendous economic and community contributions. We also
believe that, in return, the State of Washington has provided a supportive and
productive home for Boeing and its employees. 

As you make a significant decision - where to site a second production line for
the 787 - we encourage you to locate that line here in Washington, where we have
a long track record of demonstrable success together. 

Like that of Boeing, our companies` histories provide clear evidence that
companies can be built and operated successfully here in this state. We
recognize that Washington continually must improve its competitive standing in
today`s global economy. In recent years, we have made progress on a number of
issues that are important to both Boeing and the rest of the business community,
but agree that more work remains to be done. 

As leaders of the local business community, our commitment is to work closely
with you and state officials to create a business climate that allows all
Washington firms to attract the talent, capital and other resources necessary to
compete successfully in the competitive global economy. In particular, we pledge
our support to you and your entire company in working to ensure Washington
remains the single best place for you to design, build and market commercial
airplanes. 

Thank you for considering Washington as a location for the next 787 production
line. We join many others in our community in looking forward to building on our
great history with Boeing and creating an even more successful future together. 

Sincerely, 

William S. Ayer, Chairman & CEO, Alaska Airlines 

Colleen B. Brown, President & CEO, Fisher Communications 

Jeff Brotman, Chairman & Co-Founder, Costco Wholesale 

Phyllis J. Campbell, Chair/Pacific Northwest, JPMorgan Chase 

Craig Cole, President & CEO, Brown & Cole, Inc. 

Robert W. Cremin, Chairman, President & CEO, Esterline Technologies, Inc. 

Craig Dawson, President & CEO, Retail Lockbox, Inc. 

Fred Devereux, President, Wireless Operations, West, AT&T 

Andrew Doman, President & CEO, Russell Investments 

Melanie Dressel, President & CEO, Columbia Bank 

Reginald Fils-Aime, President & COO, Nintendo of America, Inc. 

Michael Hughes, President, Safeco Insurance Companies 

Barbara Hulit, President, Fluke Corporation 

Michael Kluse, Director, Battelle 

Tod Leiweke, Chief Executive Officer, Seattle Seahawks 

Bill Lewis, President, Lease Crutcher Lewis 

Howard Lincoln, Chairman, Seattle Mariners 

Steve Loeb, President & CEO, Alaska Distributors 

Stan W. McNaughton, President & CEO, PEMCO Financial Services 

Colin Moseley, Chairman, Green Diamond Resource Company 

Carol Nelson, President & CEO, Cascade Financial Corporation 

Kirk R. Nelson, President-Washington, Qwest Communications 

Jeff Pitzer, Business Unit Leader, BP Cherry Point 

Stephen P. Reynolds, Chairman, President & CEO, Puget Sound Energy 

George W. "Skip" Rowley, Jr., CEO & Chairman of the Board, Rowley Properties,
Inc. 

Johns W. Stanton, Managing Partner, Trilogy Partnership 

Brad Smith, Sr. V.P. & General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation 

Randall H. Talbot, President & CEO, Symetra Financial Corporation 

Jim Warjone, Chairman & CEO, Port Blakely Tree Farms

Washington Roundtable
Sara Garrettson, 206-623-0180
sarag@waroundtable.com

One Comment on “Washington CEOs to Boeing: Keep 787 Line 2 here

  1. Staying here is the best business decision.

    Moving is risky with not enough upside to justify that risk. There may well be no upside at all.

    But IMO, this is less a test of McNerney, and more a test of Albaugh.

    Just how smart is he, how compelling, and how much weight does his leadership have? Just how much business sense does he have in the commercial world vs military? And will McNerney place his faith in him?

    Yep, it’s all on Albaugh. McNerny has and will continue to be able to deflect all criticism. But Albaugh can be held accountable.

    I can’t believe McNerny didn’t choose Albaugh because he was the best available to him withing the confines of the company, and I find it harder to think that the choice to move or stay isn’t Albaugh’s.

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