By Alabama Public Radio
Mobile, AL – A European aircraft manufacturing company will build a 600 million dollar plant in Mobile. European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company is hoping to win a multibillion-dollar Air Force contract to produce a new generation of aerial refueling tankers. Ralph Crosby, C-E-O of European Aeronautic Defence North America, says Mobile beat three other southern cities because it's located on the Gulf of Mexico and has a deep water port. Crosby also says the city has a skilled work force and airport runways. E-A-D-S is the parent company of Airbus, and the company says an Airbus engineering center will also be built nearby and could open next year.