Boeing return is great news for Wichita, company vice president says | Opinion

Wichita is still a place I consider home.

I came to the city at 17 years old from Morocco, speaking little English.

Seven years later, I earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Wichita State, all while cheering on the Shockers basketball team and feasting on ribs at Brother Willie and Mary’s Pit’s Bar-B-Q.

Today, I proudly serve on WSU’s Foundation National Advisory Council and its Engineering School’s Advisory Board.

And, as Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ senior vice president of Global Supply Chain and Fabrication, I have had the privilege of partnering with this community through my close work with Spirit AeroSystems.

This is why I am excited about the plan to reintegrate Spirit AeroSystems into Boeing, which moved a step closer to completion in late January with the approval of the acquisition by Spirit shareholders.

Upon closing, the transaction will represent a homecoming for Boeing and a rightful reunion of two proud aviation teams and communities.

Spirit is already our largest supplier, building significant structures and components for all Boeing commercial airplane models and related military aircraft.

As one company, our world-class engineers and mechanics can work more seamlessly together to design, build and deliver quality airplanes to commercial and defense customers around the world.

Boeing has an order backlog for more than 5,000 commercial jets, representing multiple years of production work.

Looking farther out, demand for air travel continues to grow globally.

Boeing’s Commercial Market Outlook forecasts that customers will need more than 44,000 new commercial aircraft over the next 20 years.

This means that airplane production and good jobs can thrive in Wichita and across Kansas as we work together to meet the strong global demand.

Boeing already works with more than 140 small and medium-sized businesses across the state, spending more than $4 billion each year.

We are committed to the region’s highly skilled workforce.

Boeing is a model for growing U.S. jobs through exports. About 70% of our commercial airplane backlog is with non-U.S. airlines, while 80% of the company’s supply chain spending and 85% of our workforce is based here in the United States.

Boeing and our employees also have a proud legacy in this region, one that extends back to 1929 when Bill Boeing’s United Aircraft and Transportation Company established operations in Wichita.

Our engagement continues to this day and since 2011, we invested more than $22.5 million in Kansas communities.

For example, Boeing has provided more than $8.7 million to support programs at WSU, including $7 million in research and development initiatives through its National Institute for Aviation Research.

Wichita, the Air Capital of the World, is a center of innovation, passion and entrepreneurship.

Those values are the heart of this community, enabling a brighter, more connected world.

Together, we will continue to guide and shepherd the next generation of researchers, innovators, creators and leaders in this region.

It is here in Wichita where I met my wife, Michelle, made lifelong friends and spent years learning, exploring and teaching at WSU, experiences that shaped the person and leader I am today, and I can’t wait for Boeing and Spirit to reunite, working together again as one team to help connect the world.