1. Introduction
The keyto international businessinthe abilitytoanalyse the movementsof acompanyand its
international ventures. Inthe modern,age globalisation isbecominganormand multi-national
companiesare the majorfigure headsinindustrydue totheirvastreach inthe markets. Globalised
companiescanhave an effectonall aspectsof a countrythat it branchesinto,fromeconomyandhealth
as well aslocal politics. USaerospace company,Boeingisa prime exampleof these items;Boeinghas
expandeditsglobal reachtocountriesincludingJapan,ChinaandAustralia,withthe latterbeingthe
company’slargestfootholdoutside the USbase. Thisreportwill investigatethe keyitemsinBoeing’s
expansionintoAustralia,andthe impactsthe venture hashadonthe Australianlandscape.
Historyof the BoeingCompany
The BoeingCompanyisa manufacturerof commercial jetlinersandmilitaryaircraft,andone of the
largestaerospace companiesinthe world.
The ideafor The BoeingCompanywasborn ona lake inSeattle onJuly4,1914, whenWilliamE.Boeing,
a lumbercompanyexecutive fromMichigan,tookaride on a Curtissseaplane withabarnstormer
namedTerahMaroney and NavyCommanderConradWestervelt,(Pelletier,2010). Despite havingno
initial knowledge aboutaircraftBoeingenlistedWestervelttodesignanaircraftforhimto build,this
wouldresultinthe Model 1, B&W Utilityaircraft. On July15, l916, Boeingtestedhisaircraftand
incorporatedhiscompanyasthe PacificAeroProductsCompany,whichwouldlaterbecome The Boeing
Airplane Companyin1917, (Pelletier,2010).
(InsertfirstACPichere)
From here The BoeingAircraftCompanyblossomed. The companygrew duringbothworldwarswith
the developmentof all metal aircraft,propulsiontechnologyanddirectional radiosfornavigationand
nightflying,(Pelletier,2010). By the endof the SecondWorldWar had a large repertoire of well-known
aircraft includingthe B-29"SuperFortress"whichdroppedthe atomicbombsonHiroshimaand
Nagasaki inAugust,l944 endingthe war.
Duringthe space race inthe 1960’s, Boeingwasthe prime integratorforthe developmentof the Saturn
V rocketwhichhelpedputmanonthe moon.
In 1961, BoeingAircraftCompanychangeditsname to the BoeingCompanyatthe time whenAmerican
consumersexpandedthroughthe birthandadolescence of commercialpassengerairline travel.The
companybuiltsome of the mostpopularcommercial airlinersbetween1935 and 1965 includingthe
707, 727, 737, and the 747 “Jumbo”Jet.The 747 wasso expensive todevelopthatitalmostdrove the
companyintobankruptcy,(Pelletier,2010).
Boeinghasfacedsome setbacksoveritslife.In 1969, Boeingreduceditsworkforce from105,000 to
38,000 due to a lackof aircraftorders.Labour problemsledtoastrike that lasted69 days in1995,
resultingin$2 billioninfinancial lossestothe companyaswell assubstantial trickle-downlossestothe
numeroussubcontractorsandcommunitiesinwhichBoeingoperates,(Bauer,2008).
2. In the early1990’s Boeingsortto begindiversifyingthe companytoshiftfrom85% commercial and15%
defence,(GeorgetownJournal of InternationalAffairs,2003). Thisalsomarkedthe era of mergersfor
the BoeingCompanyasdownsizingandconsolidationwithinthe modernaircraftindustryaffectedlead
to a numberof competitorcompaniesbeingintegratedintoBoeing’soperation.BoeingandRockwell
completedamergerof theirdefence andaerospace unitsin1996, whichwouldalsobecome Boeing’s
firststepontoAustraliansoil. AdditionallyBoeingcompleteditsmergerwithMcDonnellDouglas
CorporationonAugust1, 1997 despite some difficultiesgettingapproval fromEurope,(Bauer,2008). In
1993, Boeingdidattemptatakeoverbidfromthe aeronautical side of defence firmGeneral Dynamics,
howevertheywere beatenbyLockheedMartinwhoacquiredthe companyfrom$1.5 Billion,(Pelletier,
2010).
(InsertShiftinIndustryPichere)
Duringthe 1990’s Boeingoperatedthroughfourdivisionsandisnow organisedintotwobusinessunits;
BoeingCommercial AirplanesandBoeingDefence,Space andSecurity. Withcorporate headquartersin
Chicago,Boeingemploysmore than170,000 people acrossthe world,withAustraliahavingthe biggest
presence outsidethe US(BoeingCompany,2012).
Comingto Australia
400 words
Boeing’sfootprintwithinAustraliaissaidtobeginin1927 whende HavillandAircraftCompanybegan
salesandmaintenance atFishermen’sBend,Melbourne. HoweverBoeing’sreal firststepintoAustralia
occurredin 1959 whentheyestablishedtheirfirstoffice inSydneyasa base for salesandsupportof
theircommercial jetfleet,(BoeingCompany,2012). In 1996, Boeingwentontoacquire majorityof the
space and militaryactivitiesof Rockwell International Corporation,whichincludedthe Australian
businessesRockwell Electronics,andAeroSpace Technologiesof Australia(formallythe Government
AircraftFactories),tobecome BoeingDefence Australia,(BoeingCompany,2012). Under the new
bannerthe companyit wasawardedcontracts for the modernizationof the AustralianDefence Forces.
In 2000, BoeingacquiredHawkerde Havilland(formallyde HavillandAircraftCompany) tobecome
BoeingAerostructuresAustraliaandin2002-2003 theymovedto consolidate theirinterestsundera
single entitynowknownasBoeingAustraliaHoldingsPtyLtd,(IBISWorldCompanyReport,2010).
Overthe past 10 years,Boeinghasmade a numberof additional acquisitionswithinAustraliaincluding
JeppesenOptimizationSolutionsHoldingPtyLtd in2006, JeppesenMarine AustraliaPtyLtdand global
supplychaincompanyAviall in2008 andInsituPacificPtyLtd in2009, (IBISWorldCompanyReport,
2010).
CurrentlyBoeingAustraliaemploysabout3,500 people atitsfacilitiesandofficesthroughoutAustralia
and isdividedintofourseparate divisions;CommercialAirplanes,whodevelopmajorpartsforBoeing’s
commercial aircraftincludingthe 737, 747 and new 787, BoeingDefence,Space &Security,whosupply
3. aircraft andprovisionstoglobal military,governmentandcommercial clientswhichinclude the
Australianmade Wedge-Tail radarsystem, F/A 18 Hornetand SuperHornet,andBoeingResearch and
Technologywhocarryout BoeingAustralia'sresearchanddevelopmentactivities,(IBISWorldCompany
Report,2010).
To date,BoeingAustraliahasinvestedmore than$350 millionintothe upgrade of local facilities,more
than $200 millioninresearchanddevelopment,andafurther$100 millionintechnologytransferredto
Australia.BoeinghasexportedfromAustralia$2.5 billionworthof complex aerostructure components,
(BoeingAustralia,2012).
(InsertBoeingAustraliamap)
Factors affectingthe move
400 words
There are a numberof factors that attributedtoBoeing’sshiftintoAustraliafromthe firstpushin1959.
InitiallyBoeing’smove wastosimplysetupabase forsalesand supportof the Boeingaircraftfleet,
whichwasbeingnewlyimplemented intothe Qantasfleet,(Qantas,2012). With Qantasbecominga
newinternationalimporterof Boeingaircraft,thiswouldgive rise tothe needforanAustralianfoothold
fromthe US basedmanufacturerasthe distance betweenthe twocountrieswastoogreatforaircraft
supportto remaininAmerica.
The stepsBoeingtookfor theirengineeringside of businesscouldbe seenasbeingnotquite assimple
as the expansionof salesandmore of an accident. The engineeringaspectof BoeingenteredAustralia
afterthe acquisitionof Rockwell International,whoenteredthe countrythe yearbefore inthe purchase
of the GovernmentAircraftFactories,(GAF)(Walker,1995). Rockwell made the pushtopurchase GAF
aftertheybeganto struggle foraviationcontracts,andplannedto;
To expanditsbusinessandexportactivitiesthroughaccesstosubstantial new work,advanced
technologyandenhancedfinancial resources,(Walker,1995).
Withthe holdingsinAustralia,Rockwell wasable tosecure anumberof contracts from the Australian
militarydue the increasedtechnical knowledge Rockwell hadattheirdisposal. Thiswasduringthe time
whenBoeingplannedtodiversifyitseffortsinthe defence market,andasa resulttheyacquiredmostof
the defence andspace activitiesof Rockwell,withthe by-productof the mergerbeingthe Rockwell
holdingsinAustralia. The mergeralsomade Boeingthe largestaerospace anddefencecompanyinthe
world,(Pelletier,2010).
Boeingproceededtouse the footholdinAustraliaasa potential model forthe company's“aspirationsto
internationalise itsmostlyUS-basedoperationsandbecome atrulyglobal company.” FromAustralia,
Boeingwouldbe able toexpanditsoperationstoemergingAsianeconomies,(Thomas,1997). andis an
ideal environmentforresearchanddevelopment
4. Australiaissetto become the regional base forBoeing,the world'sbiggestdefence andaerospace
conglomerate,andamajor beachheadforthe US manufacturinggiant'sinternational thrust.He said
that Boeingrecognisedthe strategicimportance of the Australianoffshoot,formerlyRockwell,andit
wouldalmostdefinitelybecome the centre fordefence andaerospace activitiesinthe (Australasia)
region.
"But ina globalisedcompanyyougeteverything.Ouremployeesgetaccesstoall that Boeingcanoffer
for theirprojects,includingcareerpaths.Myview isthatBoeingAustraliaisworthfarmore to Australia
as a fullyintegratedpartof the global companythanit wouldbe asa legallydefinedpartnerinaproject
witha finite lifetime."
Australiaisnota marketthatwouldjustifyamajoroverseasinvestment,butitofferscloseness
The impact inAustralia
Boeinghascauseda profoundeffectonAustralia. In2006 Boeingdirectlycontributed$362 millionto
the AustralianGDPand throughitsinteractionwithotherAustralianbusinessesitisestimatedthe
companyindirectlycontributedafurther$174.4 million.In2010 this figure hasrisentoover$790
million,approximately0.056%of the country’sGDP, (IBISWorldCompanyReport,2010).
As well asthe 3,803 people BoeingemploysinAustralia,there isafurther1,400 Australianjobsfrom
relatedsupplierroles,(Kelly,Boeingboostspresence downunderwithPhantomWorksAustralia,2008).
In 2008, Boeing’s introductionof the ResearchandTechnologydepartmenthasresultedinanincrease
intechnological knowledge andintellectualpropertywithinAustralia. The facilitiesinMelbourne and
Brisbane generallyfocusonmanufacturingresearchwhichhasledtoBoeingAerostructuresAustralia
becomingone of the mostadvancedmanufacturingfacilitiesinthe world,(Kelly,BoeingisnoPhantom
inOz, 2008).
BoeingalsoworkscloselywithselectedAustralianuniversitiestoenhance the undergraduate curricula,
supportthe continuingeducationof Boeingstaff,recruitmentandcollaborationonresearchthatmay
be beneficialtothe company.In2008, BoeingcontributedtofourAustralianuniversities;Universityof
Queensland,QueenslandUniversityof Technology,RMITUniversityandUniversityof New SouthWales,
withfundsusedforstudentprojects,travel bursaries,scholarships,awardsandstudentoutreach
programs.
The impact Boeinghashad onAustraliahasalsobeenfeltwithinthe political aspectof Australia. In
2002 BoeingannouncedthatformerLiberal leaderAndrew Peacockwouldbecome the new headof
BoeingAustralia,withthisbeingdubbed;
“A brilliantstrategicappointment.”(Baker,2007).
It isbelievedMrPeacockhelpedsmooththe wayforthose workingon the salesof the FA-18F Super
Hornetaircraft to gettheirmessage acrossto Defence Minister,DrBrendanNelsonregardingthe $6.6
billionpurchase. ItisunderstoodthatBoeingmemberspersonallybriefedNelsonin2006 on the Super
5. Hornetand howit couldfill any"capabilitygap"Australiamightencounterwithitspurchase of the new
JointStrike Fighter(JSF) itwastoacquire in2012, (Baker,2007).
"TheytargetedNelsonandprobablyfairlyquicklyreadintohispersonality,appealingtohisvanityand
desire tobe seenas someone whoisincharge.A decisionmaker,"(Baker,2007).
The purchase of the BoeingFA-18Fhas raisedsignificantcontroversyinthe Australianparliament,with
argumentsoverthe disregardfornormal purchasingprotocol andthe capabilitygapof the aircraft
causingAustraliato“lose itsair superiorityinthe Australasianregion,”(Fowler,2007).
