EVERETT — The Boeing Co. got a chance to tout an increasingly popular jet and the Port of Everett showed off its aerospace terminal Thursday as the partners loaded fuselage skin panels for the 1,000th 777 onto a rail car bound for the company’s Everett factory.
The fuselage, made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries from Japan, will be part of a landmark airplane that is expected to be completed in February and sent to Emirates Airline, the 102nd 777 it has ordered, said Larry Loftis, general manager for Boeing’s 777 program.
Loftis said the 1,000th 777 is a landmark because it only took 16 years to sell and produce that many. He said the 747 hit that mark in 23 years and the 767 did so in 29 years.
He called reaching that mark “the ultimate benchmark of success” for any airplane and was due to a “world class production system” and a “robust supply chain”.
The 777 has 200 net orders this year, Loftis said, putting it at a record pace.
The jet has been popular for international routes because of its range, reliability and fuel efficiency, and some of the company’s orders have come from airlines that didn’t want to wait for delivery of the company’s new jet, the 787.
Loftis lauded the port in helping with just-in-time delivery of some of the parts shipped from Japan.
Port director John Mohr said the port has created a reputation for handling oversized containers, which are required for the odd-sized aerospace parts. The port receives the parts by ship at its marine terminals, then barges the containers to its Mount Baker Terminal near Mukilteo.
Mohr lauded the port’s longshoremen, who he said are known “for handling over-sized cargo with great care.”
The terminal can handle containers that are 35 feet tall, 35 feet wide and 140 feet long.
The terminal was paid for in part with a $15.5 million grant from the state, offered if Boeing would agree to assemble the 787 in Everett, which it did. The facility cost $30 million.
Boeing pays the port to use the terminal, which is located near Japanese Gulch, which heads from the water to the Boeing plant. The 5.7 percent grade is the steepest for rail in North America.
Its location on a siding near the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway means that a carload of parts forces the main rail line to close down for only 30 minutes. Before it was opened in May 2008, taking parts to the plant forced a two-hour closure of the busy rail line.
In addition to the 777 parts, the port also moves parts for the 747 and 767 on the 865 foot pier. Since it opened the terminal has handled more the 4,500 airplane parts.
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