WICHITA: Spirit AeroSystems officially opened its aerospace manufacturing and design facility in Malaysia today.
Eventually, the facility is expected to employ more than 450 people in assembly, manufacturing, engineering, commercial and support roles.
The 242,000 square-foot plant will initially produce composite subassemblies for Airbus single-aisle aircraft. It also will perform design engineering developing assemblies for the Airbus A350 XWB.
The Malaysian prime minister is to officiate at an opening ceremony for the facility today. The project has received support from the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority, Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.
Spirit AeroSystems engineers are voting today on whether to accept the company’s offer of a labor contract.
Members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace have twice rejected the company’s proposals.
Polls are open today and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the SPEEA office at 978 S. Glendale.
SPEEA represents more than 700 Spirit engineers.
Union negotiators unanimously recommend acceptance of the third offer, which they call “new and improved.”
The offer includes:
- Guaranteed 3 percent bonus in 2010.
- Guaranteed minimum increases in 2011 and 2012, along with increases from market salary pools with no caps.
- Bonuses of 5 percent to 10 percent in 2011 and 6 percent to 12 percent for the final two years of the agreement if Spirit meets its targets.
- Hours worked above 40 hours a week are compensated, depending on the circumstances, by pay or comp time.
- Priority for regular employees over contract labor during layoffs and shortened work weeks.
Negotiations began June 9. A federal mediator was called in for the third round of talks.
Check back tomorrow evening for the results.
Whether the third time is a charm is too early to say. Spirit AeroSystems and its engineering union are in a third round of negotiations after members twice rejected the company’s proposals. This time, a federal mediator was called in to assist.
On Tuesday, the union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, presented the company with a counterproposal to the one engineers rejected earlier this month. The company countered today.
But the two sides have not reach agreement on the main issues. Talks resume again tomorrow.
Spirit AeroSystems expects revenues and operating performance to be better in the third quarter than they were a year ago when the company was impacted by a strike by Boeing hourly workers, which held up deliveries to Boeing.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today, Spirit said the first two months of the third quarter were consistent with the third quarter forecast.
In the filing, Spirit said it is reaffirming its full-year 2009 guidance. The company expects 2009 revenues from $4.2 billion to $4.3 billion, and diluted earnings per share from $1.45 to $1.55 a share.
The guidance assumes the resolution of “certain outstanding non-recurring assertions” related to the Boeing 787 program and the Boeing 747-8 program. It also assumes receipt of scheduled milestone payments associated with development of Airbus’ A350 XWB program. If the payments aren’t received during the third and fourth quarters, the revenues and earnings will shift to 2010, the filing said.
In a separate filing, Spirit also said it intends to offer $300 million in the aggregate principal amount of senior notes due in 2017 in a private placement.
The company will use the net proceeds to repay borrowings under its existing senior secured revolving credit facility.
WICHITA — It’s been about a year since Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems broke ground on a 500,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Kinston, N.C. The plant will build the main fuselage and wing parts for the Airbus A350. The plant is expected to be operational by the third quarter of 2010.
When it opens, it will have 250 employees. But that number will grow to 750 over the following years, according to a report by the Daily Reflector. Ultimately, it will create 1,000 jobs in the state, the site’s operations director Richard Davis told the paper.
The state and local governments gave Spirit a number of incentives to come to North Carolina. And it is close to rail, deep water ports, a runway and universities and community colleges that are training workers for the aerospace industry, the report said.
Boeing released its revised schedule 787 schedule today. The Dreamliner’s first flight is now expected by the end of the year. And first delivery is expected in the fourth quarter of 2010.
That’s good news for Spirit AeroSystems, which makes the 787’s forward fuselage.
Spirit will receive a full schedule from Boeing in early September, according to Spirit spokesman Ken Evans. “That’s when we really know for sure what the impact is going to be for us — but obviously, it’s good news.”
WICHITA: Rick Schmidt, Spirit AeroSystems executive vice president and chief financial officer, notified the company today of his decision to retire. His last day is October 2.
Philip Anderson, Spirit’s treasurer and vice president of investor relations, will take on the additional role of interim chief financial officer while the company performs a search for Schmidt’s replacement.
The company filed a notification of the change with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.
Anderson, 45, has served in his current capacity since November 2006. He is responsible for the company’s capital structure, cash management, insurance, pension investments, credit office and financial communications. Before joining Spirit, he was director of corporate finance and banking at Boeing.
Spirit AeroSystems‘ engineers will vote Aug. 27 on whether to accept the company’s offer of a new labor agreement.
The negotiating team and council for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace’s Wichita engineering unit recommend rejection of the offer. Last month, 91 percent of those voting rejected Spirit’s first offer.
Polls will be open from 1-3:30 p.m. at Century II’s Mary Jane Teall Theatre at 225 W. Douglas.
On Thursday, Spirit AeroSystems‘ engineering union presented the company with a counterproposal after members overwhelmingly rejected the company’s contract last week.
Talks between the company and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace continue today. SPEEA represents more than 700 Spirit engineers.
Spirit’s negotiators listened to the union on Thursday and said they would review the counterproposal and respond at discussions today, the union said.
Members rejected Spirit’s proposal last week by 91 percent because of issues concerning overtime pay, benefits, compensation and job security, the union said.
There’s a big difference between the Vought facility in South Carolina that Boeing is acquiring and Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems: resources.
Both plants make key components on Boeing’s new 787.
“The problem at Vought wasn’t lack of experience,” said Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia. “They’ve been building major parts of Boeing jets since the late ’60s. The problem was resources.”
Vought had been forgotten by their owners and had minimal resources at their disposal, Aboulafia said.
In contrast, successful partners on the program such as Spirit had the needed financial backing to execute on the work and win new contracts, he said.
“When you trust people to do major design work, you better make sure they have the resources, and Vought didn’t,” Aboulafia said.
In contrast, Onex moved quickly to make Spirit a stand-alone company and push forward with an initial public offering, he said.
“It was all designed that they had the adequate capital base,” Aboulafia said.
