City touts experience in bid for Boeing job.

Palmdale officials see their city as a top contender for a contract that carries the potential to revive the long-dormant commercial jet manufacturing industry.

The city has submitted its proposal to house a final assembly site for Boeing Co.'s proposed 7E7 project, which, if built, would be the first new commercial aircraft made by the Chicago-based firm since its B-777 hit runways in 1995.

The fact that Boeing is considering building a new commercial jet signals a revival of the industry that has' otherwise remained relatively flat for the lust several years, impacting both large and small jet subcontractors, including the dozens based in Palmdale and across the Antelope Valley region.

Boeing, as well as Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin have maintained ancillary facilities at Air Force Plant 42 and surrounding sites in Palmdale for decades, but the focus since the late 1980s has primarily been on defense and aerospace contracts.

Jobs in those industries, however, have shrunk significantly over the last decade, although the defense industry has ramped up somewhat since 9-11. Boeing, for example, which once had as many as 3,000 workers based in Palmdale, today has roughly 800.

Now Boeing says it intends to build 3,000 7E7 Dreamliners over about a three-decade period beginning in 2005 with a target rollout date in 2008. The aircraft is a twin-aisle vessel with seating capacity between 250 and 300.

Palmdale and Boeing officials both say the project would spawn roughly 1,200 new jobs, as many as 5,000 support positions, and pump billions into the local economy. And the city has pulled no punches in flaunting its links to Boeing and the industry in its proposal, which it submitted at the 11th hour June 20.

In addition, Palmdale, which is leading an aggressive campaign to ratchet up its status as an economic engine on several fronts, is also banking on support from powerful state and local lawmakers to win the contract.

State Sen. Pete Knight, a Palmdale resident whose 17th district includes much of the Antelope Valley is among them.

"We have assembled and delivered I don't know how many airplanes out of Plant 42 and surrounding sites for many, many years," said Knight. "Everything is in place."

Palmdale's status as an enterprise zone could also give the company significant incentives by way of tax and hiring credits. And, because Palmdale also sits within a designated foreign trade zone, Boeing could take advantage of deferrals on import duties, should it opt to manufacture some parts for the 7E7 in countries overseas and bring them in for final assembly.

There's also a building.

Site 9 facility

Palmdale is offering up the former Rockwell North American Aircraft Plant, known as Site 9, for the 7E7 project. Site 9 sits adjacent to Plant 42 on roughly 1.3 million acres of land owned by Los Angeles World Airports.

Rockwell built roughly 100 B-1 bombers in the building during the 1980s.

"I'd say we have a number of very positive things going for us," said Danny Roberts, Palmdale's director of economic development who led the Antelope Valley's "Red Team" in crafting the final 7E7 proposal. "The Site 9 building was used as a final assembly plant for the B-1, so it has all of the things you need to build a commercial aircraft."

As many as 14 other states are also in the running.

Boeing officials say they will likely identify the winning bid sometime before the end of the year. They declined to comment further.