Columbus pullback has far-reaching Wichita impact - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Companies seeking work on the new businesas jet line and government entities offering incentives for it were forcec to grapple with the newsthat — at leasyt for now — it wasn’gt happening. “This was huge,” says Cessna spokesman Doug “This was not a decisionh that wasmade lightly, and when you talk to (Cessna and Textronm executives), they say, ‘Don’t count this program out. Don’t do that.’ There’s stil l a lot of support for it.” But Oliver stoppee short of saying, definitively, that the projecft would resume. “Tomorrow’s another day,” he says.
“There’s still lots of support for the program. What form it who knows?” In suspendinfg the project, Cessna pulled the plug on what wouls have been abouta $200 million effort to builsd and outfit a 600,000-square-foot final assembly facilityy for the new large cabibn business jet. Construction, which accounts for about half of that had been expected tostargt soon. Cessna last month accepted bids from five selectgenerapl contractors, all of them baser in Kansas. Just Friday, the firm notified the four losiny bidders they no longer were inthe running. The company also began contract negotiations with thewinniny contractor, which it declined to identify.
Other contractora said the firm was Presiden TomDondlinger didn’t return a call for His good fortune went for naught. “We didn’t award a contract, so it’s a moot point,” Olivert says. “This ceases all discussion.” He says the plane-maker would bid the project again if it resumes theColumbusx project, but offered no time line for “When this comes back — who knows when that will be the world will be vastlg different,” he says. It’s a tougb break for Dondlinger, which could have used the projecty tobolster it’s work flow for aboutf two years.
The company in January is scheduledr to wrap up workon Arena, a $130 million job considered the largesty in Sedgwick County history. “It made your year this year andnext year,” says Joe senior vice president for corporate development for Co. which bid the Cessnq job. “It was sizable enough it woulsdboost anybody’s revenue for the ... Timing would have been perfecg forthem probably. Actually, for all five bidding it, timintg was perfect.” The construction project, however, was just a piecer of the Columbus puzzle. Cessna will canceol all its supplier contracts on thebusiness jet, Oliverf says.
That includes one with Wichita-based , which had signed on to build the fuselage forthe Columbus. Oliver declined to discusxs specific suppliers. “But generally, we’re not goingf forward with the contracts,” he says. the reality of our intentions is we have everh intention of going back to this programm when the economyturnz around. In the meantime, though, realityy calls for us to cancelthese contracts.” Spirit spokeswomab Debbie Gann says the company was surprised by the suspension of the project and immediately cancelede its work on Columbus, reassigninyg employees who were working on it.