Kinston plant may also benefit Onslow

Onslow County may see benefits from Spirit AeroSystems' announcement Wednesday that it will open a plant in Kinston, eventually creating 1,000 jobs in the area.

Company officials estimate the average annual salary will be $48,000. And that may entice Onslow County residents to commute to Kinston for work.

However, there is a lot to factor in, said David Williams, an employment consultant supervisor with the Onslow County Employment Security Commission.

"Like in all things, it's going to depend on what the salary is," he said. "Is it going to be worth it to people to make the drive, especially with the current costs of gasoline or fuel?"

A commute of about 45 miles from Jacksonville may present a challenge. However, the 30-mile drive from Richlands may not be as daunting.

"(Commuting) always has an impact on people. People who live in the western, northwestern part of the county toward Richlands, it's less of a drive so less of an impact. People who live in town or in the Hubert area, it's a greater impact," Williams said.

Besides fuel, other costs may not make that new job worth the drive, he said.

"When you're looking at commuting, you're wearing out your car," Williams said. "It can get expensive after a while if you're driving a long distance."

Even if the possibility of commuting to Kinston for work is not appealing, Onslow County may still see many perks of the Spirit installation.

"There will be a major focal point for aerospace, and consequently that will bring a lot of attention from aerospace companies to our part of the state," said Jim Reichardt, executive director of Jacksonville-Onslow Economic development.  "It's very key to us because two of our major target industries involve composite materials - boat building and transportation equipment. In fact, we are already talking very seriously with a transportation equipment company that uses composite materials. So this is definitely a technology we can take advantage of."

Spirit's arrival in Kinston may push other companies to look seriously at locating in Onslow, he said.

"We could be a seeing a large number of company prospects that would be looking not only at Kinston (but also Onslow County)," Reichardt said. "Sometimes they don't like to get clustered in any one area. Therefore, since we have a superior work force, that would perhaps help them make the decision to consider Onslow County as a good location for them. They would still be a good proximity in the composite location, but they would be much closer to their work force, which I think is a bigger draw."

Burton Industrial Park, he said, will be a major focus, since it is on the Kinston side of Onslow. Reichardt envisions a material development counterpoint to the Triangle.

"(Spirit is) going to be performing training as well as manufacturing, and I think you'll see a lot of new materials developed there. I think the key point is that it is going to be the focal point," Reichardt said. "It's going to be very much like the Research Triangle Park being the focal point for the research/development in the Raleigh-Durham area."

Officials expect the Spirit plan to be operational in 18 to 19 months.

Components for the Airbus 350 XWB, an extrawide body passenger jet, will be the first products built at the Kinston plant, said John Llewellyn, Spirit's senior vice president and general manager for aerostructure segments, at a Wednesday morning gathering in Kinston to announce the move.

Freedom ENC's Chris Lavender contributed to this report. Contact Jacksonville/Onslow County reporter Amanda Hickey at ahickey@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8463.