Boeing (Chicago, Seattle, Wichita and Charleston) yesterday (September 24) marked completion of the steel framework for its new 787 Dreamliner Final Assembly building with a special topping-out ceremony. The event was held in conjunction with BE&K/Turner, the design-builder of the facility.

The final piece of steel was put into place on the 1.1 million-square-foot (102,193 square meters) structure less than a year after the November 2009 groundbreaking. Approximately 18,000 tons of steel are used in the building.

Construction on the new facility is on schedule, with airplane production due to begin in July 2011 and the first delivery from Charleston in the first quarter os 2012. At full production rate, Boeing will assemble and deliver three 787s per month from South Carolina to customers around the world. The South Carolina Final Assembly facility will be one of only three in the world producing twin-aisle commercial jetliners.