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Spirit AeroSystems’ decision to put a plant in North Carolina brings respect for the state’s Global TransPark. The park has had a rocky time landing businesses, and Eugene Conti, vice chairman of the North Carolina Global TransPark Authority, said in today’s Charlotte Observer that the industrial park took a major step forward with the addition of Wichita-based Spirit.
“Now the GTP can leave the long struggle for respectability behind,”Conti said.
The GTP has been “a regular punching bag for some writers and commentators,” he said. “The GTP was sometimes thrown under the bus.” Even after Spirit’s announcement, some reporters took a cynical “even mean-spirited approach to the story.”
Spirit will bring more than 1,000 high-skill jobs to North Carolina. “Imagine what may come in the wake of Spirit’s initial impact as its manufacturing business grows in the coming years,” Conti said.
Now, “we pledge to build on the foundation of Spirit’s commitment,” Conti said. “No one is claiming the job is over.”