ATW Daily News

Boeing chooses South Carolina for second 787 line

Thursday October 29, 2009

Boeing yesterday announced that it will place a second 787 final assembly line in North Charleston, S.C., rather than near Seattle, which Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh said would allow the manufacturer "to continue building on the synergies we have established in South Carolina with Boeing Charleston and Global Aeronautica," adding in a not-so-veiled jab at the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers that the company is "taking prudent steps to protect the interests of our customers as we introduce the 787-9 and ramp up overall production to 10 twin-aisle 787 jets per month."

Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney recently said the manufacturer and its customers were shaken by last year's IAM strike and that "diversifying our labor pool and labor relationships has some benefits" (ATWOnline, Oct. 22). The Seattle Times cited a source who claimed talks between Boeing and the union broke down over the former's push for a 10-year, no-strike agreement.

Boeing Charleston currently performs fabrication, assembly and systems installation for the 787 aft fuselage sections. GA, which is 50% owned by Boeing, handles fuselage joining and integration. Boeing said it would "establish transitional surge capability" in Everett to handle introduction of the 787-9 until the Charleston FAL is up and running. The new FAL also will "have the capability to support [787] testing and delivery," it said.

by Brian Straus

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