June 03--DURHAM -- County officials confirmed this week that they've been asked to put $200,000 into a multi-government business-incentive package for GE Aviation.
The request has already been vetted by County Commissioners and will appear soon on their public agenda, Deputy County Manager Marqueta Welton said.
Welton's acknowledgment of the request came as city officials prepare to vote Monday night on their $400,000 contribution to a deal that ultimately will involve the state plus local governments in four North Carolina communities.
GE Aviation assembles jet engines in a plant off South Miami Boulevard. The incentive package will pay for a $24 million, 50-employee expansion that could ultimately serve up to six new engine-related projects, city officials have said.
The company also has facilities in Wilmington, Asheville and West Jefferson, N.C., and all could be involved in the project, manufacturing parts for assembly in Durham.
GE Aviation officials haven't publicly identified what they're working on. Durham plant manager Mike Wagner last week would only say the effort is "about being ready for the future."
But GE has been looking for a place to set up production lines for the new Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion or LEAP engines it's building in collaboration with a French company.
The LEAP engines are ticketed for new-generation models of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, the short- and medium-haul workhorses of the global airline industry. They'll also go into an under-development Chinese airplane that'll be comparable to the 737 and A320.
Airlines have ordered thousands of the new twin-engined Airbuses and Boeings, so a role in the LEAP program would be a major plum for any factory receiving one.
Welton said the incentive package that's taking shape will involve county and municipal governments in all four affected communities, plus a state contribution that will exceed the combined local-level pledges.
Monday's City Council vote won't be the only one that night tied to the effort.
In Wilmington, New Hanover County officials are preparing to pledge $875,000 to the package.
Their share will underwrite a $63 million expansion of a GE Aviation plant that's in Castle Hayne, an unincorporated community just outside Wilmington.
New Hanover officials are expecting their investment to generate 35 new jobs in their community. GE now employs about 600 people there.
A report in the Wilmington Star-News suggests the city of Wilmington is not involved. It quoted Wilmington's mayor, Bill Saffo, as saying no one from GE had approached him about incentives.
GE Aviation's Durham plant as of April employed 316 technicians and 34 support staff. It assembles among other things the engines used on Boeing 777s and Boeing 787s.
Copyright 2013 - The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C.
