Boeing, Alabama’s largest aerospace company, commemorated its 60th year of operation in Huntsville with a presentation held on Tuesday, June 7 at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber president and CEO Chip Cherry kicked off the event, noting that Boeing secured its first business license in Huntsville in 1962 and describing the company as “a big part of our heritage.”

Boeing Director of Missile Operations and Huntsville Site Leader Ramon Sanchez noted that Boeing began 60 years ago supporting the NASA Saturn V project at Marshall Space Flight Center and continues to perform and be a huge player in the space race.

“At Boeing, we work hard to maintain our presence and high wages providing for the highly-skilled jobs our operations require,” Sanchez said. “We’re looking forward and committed to the continued success of our customers, the economic health of the state, and contributing to the overall quality of life in our local communities.”

Senior Research Economist and Associate Dean for Economic Development Outreach Dr. Sam Addy of the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration then discussed the findings of a study commissioned by Boeing that outlined its economic and fiscal impacts on the state during 2021.

Dr. Sam Addy of the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration discussed the economic success that Boeing brought to Alabama in 2021.

According to Addy, Boeing’s economic output was $2.731 billion in 2021, $663.2 million of which represents earnings for 9,402 direct and indirect jobs in the state, including 3,000 at Boeing. He stated that Boeing’s payroll last year was $302 million, with average earnings of $103,000 for Boeing workers and $55,000 each for indirect workers. In contrast, Addy said that the average worker in Alabama earned $51,000 in 2020.

Addy also stated that the company’s contribution to the GDP of the state is about $1.3 billion, and earnings generated $61.5 million in tax revenue, including $35 million in state and $26.5 million in local taxes.

“Boeing is a good corporate citizen–I can’t say it much better than that. But these are numbers and they’re quantitative aspects. The qualitative aspects go far more than one can say…I can say for sure that Boeing having been here for 60 years means they were contributing to the success, the attraction, the bringing of other businesses, the success of other businesses and entities in this region and the state,” Addy concluded.

Tina Watts with Boeing Global Engagement emphasized Boeing’s commitment to supporting the community, announcing that in recognition of the company’s 60th year in Alabama, Boeing is awarding two $60,000 grants. The recipients of these grants are the Boys and Girls Club of North Alabama’s STEM Career Pathway Program and the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program.

“We’ve seen some huge impacts on our economy and on our area that have come from Boeing. The City of Huntsville is deeply grateful to Boeing for being our partner for the past 60 years,” said Mayor Tommy Battle. “That partnership is a partnership of success–Boeing’s success has been the City of Huntsville’s success and it’s been our whole area’s success. As we’ve grown over the last 60 years they’ve made the Rocket City grow.”

“What Boeing does today makes us a center of excellence that few people can rival throughout the country or throughout the world,” Battle continued, crediting the company with helping Huntsville to earn the ranking of best community in the United States by U.S. News and World Reports.

Battle also thanked Boeing for the two grants, adding that he hopes that some of the boys and girls who go through the Boys and Girls Club’s STEM program will one day work for Boeing.

“We’re also hoping that they spread throughout our community and are part of the group that helps us grow into the future. As I tell my department heads on a day-to-day basis, we may have just been named #1, but #1 was yesterday. Today we’re building on tomorrow…we have to keep continuing to strive to get better, to be a great community, and through awards like this we are becoming a better community.”

Images provided by Dawn Suiter, the Huntsville Business Journal.