Critics Say Company Could Pull US Production

Despite his company's recent, high-profile win of the US Air Force KC-X tanker contract a few months ago, it isn't easy being EADS North America chief Ralph Crosby right now... as that success has only served to paint a larger bullseye on the company's back, with Boeing supporters drawing a bead.

On Friday, Crosby defended against claims made by some US lawmakers, that EADS could chose to pull assembly work for the upcoming KC-45A from Alabama. As ANN reported, a team comprised of EADS and American contractor Northrop Grumman was awarded the tanker contract February 29; Boeing has appealed the decision to the Government Accountability Office, and its decision is pending.

Crosby used a tour Friday of the EADS plant in Columbus, MS that manufactures light utility helicopters for the US Army, to downplay the remarks. The plant was an apropos choice to make a stand on KC-X, as EADS continued work on the LUH on its own dime, even as protestors held up the formal June 2006 awarding of that contract... allowing the LUH program to remain on schedule.

"The point is we've never made a commitment that we haven't kept," Crosby told Reuters, noting EADS has delivered 26 LUHs to date to the US Army, all on-time, and is in the process of transferring even more work from Germany to the United States. Army officials back up EADS' claims.

So far, EADS has spent $500 million to construct an engineering center in Mobile, AL... and assuming KC-45A production is given the green light, EADS plans to construct what will be the third-largest aircraft manufacturing facility there, behind Airbus' plant in Toulouse and Boeing's Everett facility.

EADS plans to build Airbus A330-200 aircraft in Mobile, to be used as platforms for both KC-45 tankers, as well as the upcoming A330-200 Freighter.

"There's absolutely no truth" to statements implying EADS' commitment to Alabama is less than total, Crosby added. The company expects to add 22,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Mobile area through work on the freighter alone; the KC-45A is projected to add another 48,000 jobs.

"The transformational part of it is that we've become part of the industrial infrastructure of the United States," Crosby said

Crosby also expressed surprise how vehemently Boeing, and its supporters on Capitol Hill, have protested EADS' largest foray to date into what had been the insular US defense industry.

"It's absolutely about keeping EADS and Airbus from manufacturing airplanes in the United States," Crosby said, adding he fully expects the GAO to toss out Boeing's protest.

FMI: www.eads.com