Gov. Gary Herbert pressed the symbolic electricity button to a new Boeing assembly line in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, underscoring the state’s commitment to job creation.
The assembly line will build the vertical fin assemblies for the 787 Dreamliners built at Boeing South Carolina. Boeing will add 45 jobs by the end of this year, and 120 jobs by the end of 2012. These positions are highly skilled technical jobs.
“With increasing demand for our products and the development of two new airplanes, this is an exciting time for Boeing,” said Ross R. Bogue, vice president and general manager of Boeing Fabrication, in a news release. “Boeing Salt Lake City has a key role in the future success of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.”
In the last few weeks, there have been major job announcements for five separate companies in Utah: ITT Corps., EMC, IM Flash, Watson Pharmaceuticals and Boeing.
“The governor has been delighted about the five major job announcements in the last couple weeks,” said Ally Isom, deputy chief of staff for Herbert. “The governor is all about jobs right now and is working hard to bring jobs to the state of Utah.”
Marty Carpenter of the Salt Lake Chamber explained they created a 10-point plan called the Utah Jobs Agenda in 2010 as a signal to companies that Utah is poised to lead the nation in job creation.
“Our state has been an economic bright spot for a number of years, even during the econimc downturn,” Carpenter said. “Our unemployment rate has continued to stay under the national rate. What you’re seeing is a coordinated effort between our elected efficials and the private sector to create jobs.”
The 10-point plan includes areas such as education, transportation, energy and tax policy.
“Businesses that are looking to relocate here see that Utah manages the economy correctly,” Carpenter said. “We try to get rid of the cumbersome regulation and just have that which is necessary.”
To view the plan, go to slchamber.com/utahjobsagenda
