Boeing Marks Construction Milestone on South Carolina 787 Final Assembly Building
September 26, 2010
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – September 24, 2010 – Boeing (NYSE: BA)marked completion of the steel framework for its new 787 DreamlinerFinal Assembly building with a special topping-out ceremony. The eventwas held in conjunction with BE&K/Turner, the design-builder of thefacility.
The final piece of steel was put into place on the 1.1million-square-foot (102,193 square meters) structure less than a yearafter the November 2009 groundbreaking. Approximately 18,000 tons ofsteel are used in the building.
By this time next year, the Final Assembly building will be complete,and we will have begun production of the first South Carolina-built 787Dreamliner. That is tremendous – from green-field site to airplaneproduction in about 18 months, said Marco Cavazzoni, vice president and general manager, 787 Final Assembly and Delivery. The support we’vereceived and continue to receive from our South Carolina partners andsuppliers, as well as the state and local community is amazing and isone of the main reasons we’ve been able to reach these significantmilestones in such a short timeframe.
Construction on the new facility is on schedule, with airplaneproduction due to begin in July 2011 and first delivery in first-quarter 2012. At full production rate, Boeing will assemble and deliver three787s per month from South Carolina to customers around the world. TheSouth Carolina Final Assembly facility will be one of only three in theworld producing twin-aisle commercial jetliners.
