Boeing to locate 787 interior parts factory in Lowcountry

Staff report
Monday, May 3, 2010

Boeing Co. today said it plans to hire 150 additional workers to make interior fixtures for the 787 jets that will be assembled in North Charleston.

The new venture will be located within 20 minutes of the company's existing manufacturing campus at Charleston International Airport, said Ray Conner, vice president and general manager for Boeing Commercial's supply chain management and operations.

The exact site has not been determined. A location is expected to be announced this summer. The interior parts factory will open in early 2012, just as the first locally made 787s start rolling off the assembly line.

The expansion is part of the company's plan to replicate all of its critical manufacturing operations for the new jetliner in South Carolina. Boeing executives have said that will enable the company to continue producing the airplane if the existing 787 assembly line in Everett, Wash., shuts down because of a strike or other reasons.

Boeing is building a $750 million, 3,800-worker production plant for its 787 Dreamliner jet at Charleston International, where it already makes major fuselage sections for its new passenger plane.