Boeing picks Texas company to paint S.C.-built 787s

Published 3:20 pm Thursday, March 10, 2011

Boeing will fly its South Carolina-built 787s to Texas to be painted, the company announced Thursday.

Boeing selected Leading Edge Aviation Services to paint Dreamliners that are assembled at its North Charleston, S.C. site.

Boeing will fly its 787s from South Carolina to Leading Edge’s site in Amarillo, Texas, to be painted before the jets come back to North Charleston for delivery.

“We began our search for a paint subcontractor soon after we broke ground on our facility, knowing the experience and capacity to paint large commercial airplanes didn’t currently exist geographically close by,” said Marco Cavazzoni, general manager of final assembly and delivery in South Carolina.

Cavazzoni called Leading Edge’s location a “manageable flying distance” from North Charleston. The distance is 1,250 miles.

Boeing is using global partners to supply major structures for the 787. North Charleston is Boeing’s second 787 final assembly site. Its Everett location already is assembling 787s.

The North Charleston final assembly facility will open mid-2011.

Boeing is expected to deliver its first 787 Dreamliner later this year. The program is more than three years behind schedule.

Dreamliners built at Boeing’s Everett location will continue to be painted here.