Big jets, big decisions

Published 9:00 pm Friday, April 15, 2005

EVERETT – The secret to beating Airbus lies inside the Boeing Co.’s massive Everett factory, according to the new man in charge of the building.

“Our employees, they are highly intelligent,” said Dan Becker, Boeing’s new Everett site manager. “If we can tap the intelligence of our work force, that’s a huge competitive advantage for us.”

Becker took over this month as Boeing’s vice president and general manager of 747, 767 and 777 airplane production. The new job makes him the company’s top executive in Everett, and the face of Boeing in the community, as well as the leader of the company’s three wide-body jet programs.

Becker replaces the John Quinlivan, who retired. Becker had been a vice president in Everett, sharing some management responsibilities with Quinlivan, for about a year prior to the transition.

Becker takes over at a pivotal time for Boeing’s Everett-based jet programs. The company is now flight-testing its new ultralong-range 777-200LR, which can carry passengers up to 10,000 miles – farther than any other airliner.

The company also is studying whether to start production on a revamped jumbo jet – the 747 Advanced – or to stop building 747s altogether.

The fate of the 767 program also hangs in the balance. Commercial orders are dwindling as Boeing pushes development of the 787, which is intended to replace the 767, and expected military orders have fallen in the wake of the Pentagon procurement scandal.

“They are big decisions,” Becker said. “The marketplace will tell you what to do.”

Boeing is actively courting buyers for the 747 Advanced, he said. (The Sunday Times in London recently identified British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines as likely launch customers.) If there’s interest, Boeing will build it, Becker said.

Likewise, Boeing is “out every day promoting and selling commercial 767s,” he said, and the company will decide later this year how much longer it will keep building 767s for airlines.

A production line shutdown wouldn’t necessarily spell the end of Boeing’s 767 programs for the military. Becker wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Boeing would mothball the 767 production line, holding it ready for a restart, should the Air Force decide to buy 767 refueling tankers.

“We have not closed the door on any option on how to support the 767 tanker,” Becker said. “We’ll execute the option that provides the best solution for the Air Force requirements.”

In spite of the uncertainty surrounding those two signature Everett jet programs – Boeing built the Everett factory to build 747s – Becker said the company and the community both have promising outlooks.

“The market in front of us for the next 20 years is phenomenal,” he said. Boeing has gone through markedly tough times in recent years, with layoffs and restructuring, but it has emerged with new products and a more efficient production system.

“How it feels today is a large contrast to how it felt two years ago,” Becker said. “It’s really a good feeling, frankly.”

And “the Everett site plays a significant role” in the company’s future, he said. Boeing’s decision to establish the 787 program here means Everett has “a long-term future” with the company.

In the near term, Becker’s task is to make sure the things that happen on the Everett factory floor and engineering offices are in tune with the overall company strategy.

Becker also is likely to keep himself close to the action. He said his favorite jobs in his 31-year Boeing career have been those where he’s been involved in operations.

“I like to be close to the product,” he said. “It makes the fruits of everyone’s labor more tangible when you can look out this window and see a 777.”

Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.