Boeing to expand Gresham plant, hire 152 workers

By Shannon Wells

The Gresham Outlook, Mar 5, 2010, Updated Mar 9, 2010 (2 Reader comments)

Tribune File Photo

Boeing plans to expand its Gresham plant on Northeast Sandy Boulevard with a $100 million chemical processing facility.

Boeing will expand its Gresham operations with a $100 million chemical processing plant that could employ 152 workers in the next three years.

The Chicago-based airplane manufacturer, which employs approximately 1,500 people at its Gresham operations on Northeast Sandy Boulevard, plans to launch construction on a 60,000-square-foot chemical processing plant in May, said Don Schmidt, communication manager with Boeing Fabrication.

Boeing applied to the city of Gresham in January for up to eight years of property tax abatement within its enterprise zone designation, said Shannon Lopez, economic development specialist with the city.

“We are very, very delighted with the expansion plans,” Lopez said of one of the city’s largest employers. “We couldn’t be happier.”

The City Council will consider the application at its April 6 meeting.

Boeing first applied for the capital-investment based incentive in 2007, when an approximately $80 million investment yielded more than 100 new jobs, Lopez noted.

The plant – which accommodates chemical treatments on metal parts manufactured in northwest Washington – will transition to the new facility in 2013 and be fully operational by 2014, said Schmidt, noting that hiring is already under way.

For hiring information, visit www.boeing.com/employment .

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