When the Boeing Co. begins production on its first 787 in South Carolina this week, the company marks a new era.
It’s the first time a Boeing commercial jet will be built outside Washington state. The 787 will be built by nonunion workers in North Charleston — something that has caused a sti
r and landed Boeing in hot water with the federal labor board. And it signals a new strategy by Boeing: duplication of aircraft production.
The wings for the first 787 that will be assembled in South Carolina were flown in last week. Full production on the jet, which is slated for delivery next year, could start as early as Tuesday. Ultimately, Boeing hopes to build three 787s monthly at its North Charleston site.
Boeing already is building roughly two 787s monthly at its Everett location, which the company chose in 2003 to be the final assembly site for 787 structures built all over the world. In 2009, following a 57-day strike by the Machinists union the previous year, Boeing picked South Carolina for a second 787 line.
Comments by Boeing officials about strike-proofing production have led to a complaint by the National Labor Relations Board, which accuses the jet maker of illegally retaliating against Machinists in Washington. The case could drag on in court for years.
In the meantime, though, Boeing has continued duplicating sources on the 787, making Dreamliner production resilient not only to labor strikes but also supplier stumbles and natural disasters.
Earlier this month, while in Japan to watch some 787 test flights with the Dreamliner’s launch customer, All Nippon Airways, Boeing’s Jim Albaugh, president of commercial airplanes, told reporters the company is taking a look at its supply chain in light of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated areas of Japan. Although the natural disaster had minimal effect on Boeing’s suppliers there, the company has seen the problems it created for the automotive industry.
“We want to make very sure that in the future we have a production system that is not impacted by natural catastrophe that could occur anywhere in the world,” Albaugh told Reuters.
Since selecting South Carolina in 2009, Boeing officials have made several decisions that illustrate their duplicative manufacturing philosophy — including putting a second 787 interiors site near the North Charleston facility and deciding to establish a 787 vertical fin manufacturing site in Salt Lake City. The Utah location will supply the North Charleston site, while Boeing’s existing vertical fin site in Frederickson will continue supplying Everett.
At the Paris Air Show last month, Boeing also revealed it will not name Alenia Aeronautica the primary supplier for its 787-9 horizontal stabilizers, though the Italian company makes the part for the 787-8.
The initial batch will be built in Seattle, at Boeing’s Developmental Center. Boeing has said Alenia will be a secondary supplier for the 787-9 stabilizers. While Boeing is building the initial 787-9 stabilizers in Seattle, the company hasn’t said where production would land.
While the Machinists union certainly would welcome the return of any work to the Puget Sound region, it’s not so keen on Boeing’s dual-sourcing strategy.
“We don’t think it makes sense for Boeing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to duplicate facilities that it already has, especially when our facilities here in Puget Sound aren’t working at maximum capacity,” said Connie Kelliher, spokeswoman for the union. “And when you look at the 787 program in particular, the only section of the plane that hasn’t been plagued with delays and cost overruns is the vertical fin built by our members here in Puget Sound.”
If Boeing is set on duplicating work, it could mean suppliers will see a smaller slice of the pie when the jet maker decides the future of the single-aisle 737 jet, which is built in Renton. The Chicago-based company is expected to decide by year’s end whether it will re-engine the 737 or come up with an entirely new aircraft.
If it decides to go with an all-new jet, Boeing will expect sites to compete for a final assembly plant. In anticipation of that, Gov. Chris Gregoire has launched an effort to land Boeing’s next new plane in Washington, though not specifically in the Puget Sound region. Both Moses Lake and Spokane have been floated as possibilities.
Still, Boeing Machinists say they’ve got one thing other sites can’t offer: experience.
“The least costly, lowest-risk business decision would be to utilize Boeing’s existing assets and give more work to the most-productive workers Boeing has, our members here in Puget Sound,” Kelliher said.
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