Michigan is making a long-shot bid to entice Airbus SAS to build a $600-million manufacturing plant to one of three communities.
The state will face plenty of competition. The French aircraft maker has sent proposals to all 50 states, and at least 35 have expressed interest.
Michigan has offered Alpena, Willow Run and Chippewa County in the Upper Peninsula. The three meet all or some of Airbus' requirements for the plant, such as a 9,000-foot runway, 150 acres and easy access to a deepwater port, railroads and roads.
"We are in the ring with a number of tough contenders for this project," said Don Jakeway, president and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. "Even though the competition is fierce, we have a very convincing proposal for Airbus to consider that would benefit the company and our state alike."
The Airbus assembly plant would convert its A330 jetliners into KC-330 aerial refueling tankers if it wins a contract from the U.S. Air Force. The plant would create as many as 1,000 jobs.
One aviation expert said Michigan has some advantages, including an aggressive approach in offering incentives but predicts Airbus will select a southern port city for the plant.
"The guy who wins this will be because of a freak of nature," said Darryl Jenkins, visiting professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. "The runway will have to be close to that port, and there will be have to be unfettered access between those two points. When those components roll down the highway, they will be 30 feet high and 30 feet wide and take both lanes of the highway. They will have to take down the utility poles."
Jenkins predicted that Mobile, Ala., has the best chance.
"Alabama has been overly aggressive in its contracts When it got that Mercedes plant, it gave more incentives than I think it got in benefits," Jenkins said.
If Airbus does not get the contract, it still plans to build a plant with 112 employees, Jenkins said.
He said he does not expect Airbus' North American affiliate, EADS North America, to make a decision on a plant for two to five years.
Incentives will be offered for the Michigan locations, with the specific ones depending on the three sites, according to the MEDC.
This is not the first time Michigan has attempted to attract an aircraft manufacturing plant to the state.
Willow Run and Alpena as well as Oscoda bid for a Boeing Co. plant to build its fuel-efficient 7E7 jetliner. Boeing selected Everett, Wash., in December 2003.
