Tag Archives: North Charleston

Boeing responds to IAM’s petition to unionize Boeing South Carolina

Boeing (Chicago, Seattle and Charleston) has released this statement in regards to possible unionization of its South Carolina Boeing 787 workforce by the IAM:

Boeing was notified on March 16 that the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union has petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a union election at the company’s North Charleston, S.C., facilities.

If the NLRB permits it, a vote will be scheduled for eligible teammates to decide whether they will turn over their rights to the IAM or keep a direct relationship with the company.

“Boeing South Carolina teammates have done what so many people said couldn’t be done. And they did it by working together, engaging every day, and truly committing themselves to the success of our site,” said Beverly Wyse, Boeing South Carolina’s newly appointed vice president and general manager. “And let’s be really clear, the IAM was not part of this success – it was our BSC teammates. In fact, the IAM aggressively opposed it, as publicly demonstrated by their filing of a claim with the National Labor Relations Board, to try to keep our site from even opening. Now, simply by filing this petition, the same union that tried to take our jobs and our work, has already begun to divide our team at a time when we’re just beginning to gel and catch a solid rhythm in production.”

Boeing firmly believes that a union is not in the best interest of Boeing South Carolina teammates and their families, their communities, and the state of South Carolina, especially after years of the IAM insulting the abilities of Boeing South Carolina teammates and fighting against BSC’s success.

“We think our Boeing South Carolina teammates deserve to pave their own future and keep their hard-earned money in their own pockets,” said Wyse. “In fact, they’ve been very successful doing just that for the past five years. They’ve built not only new airplanes, but also a new site, and new opportunities for an incredible future here in South Carolina by working together as a team, without the distractions of a union. We’re extremely proud of what our teammates have accomplished.”

Boeing South Carolina has established several outlets to keep teammates, their families and the community updated throughout this process, including a website and Facebook page that provides information, facts, data, and additional resources related to the IAM’s unionizing efforts in South Carolina.

Boeing to build the new 787-10 in North Charleston, SC

Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) has announced that final assembly of the 787-10, the newest and longest member of the 787 Dreamliner family of airplanes, will take place exclusively in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Boeing will continue to assemble both 787-8s and 787-9s in Everett, Washington, and North Charleston. Design of the 787-10 is underway in Everett, with final assembly of the first 787-10 scheduled to begin in South Carolina in 2017.

“We looked at all our options and found the most efficient and effective solution is to build the 787-10 at Boeing South Carolina,” said Larry Loftis, vice president and general manager, 787 program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “This will allow us to balance 787 production across the North Charleston and Everett sites as we increase production rates. We’re happy with our growth and success in South Carolina, and the continued success at both sites gives us confidence in our plan going forward.”

The 787-10 will be 18 feet (5.5 meters) longer than the 787-9. With 10 feet (3 meters) of that increase in the midbody section, the 787-10 midbody is too long to be transported efficiently from North Charleston, where systems integration work is performed, to the Everett facility for final assembly. In addition, introducing the 787-10 in North Charleston takes advantage of that facility’s capacity while allowing the Everett facility to continue improving productivity as it focuses on the 787-8 and 787-9.

The 787 production system includes three production lines: two in Everett (including a temporary surge line) and one in South Carolina. The integrated production system currently operates at a production rate of 10 airplanes per month. As announced last year, the 787 production rate will increase to 12 airplanes per month in 2016 and 14 per month by the end of the decade.

The Everett facility will continue to assemble seven airplanes per month, while Boeing South Carolina final assembly will gradually increase from three 787s per month today to five per month in 2016 and seven per month by the end of the decade.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner family of airplanes offers airlines unmatched fuel efficiencies and environmental performance, while providing a new level of comfort for passengers through the thoughtful application of new technologies. To date, the 787 family has won more than 1,000 orders and more than 165 airplanes have been delivered to 21 customers worldwide.

The 787-10 will leverage 787 technology to provide more passenger and cargo capacity along with unparalleled seat-mile economics in the medium twin-aisle market. Since its launch in June 2013, the 787-10 has won 132 orders from six global customers.

Boeing is adding contract workers at the North Charleston, SC Boeing 787 plant

Boeing (Chicago) is adding hundreds of contract workers at its Boeing 787 North Charleston, South Carolina assembly plant to help deal with production problems according to the Wall Street Journal and The Post and Courier.

According to the WSJ, “Boeing is hiring more than 300 contract mechanics and inspectors immediately and could increase that number to between 500 and 1,000, according to three people familiar with the hiring. Those workers would assist the more than 7,000 people Boeing employed at the Charleston plant.”

Read the full report from The Post and Courier: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Arisara Petersen. The production flight line at North Charleston. The Air India 787s are mainly assembled at Charleston.

Boeing to expand the North Charleston, South Carolina facility

Boeing (Chicago) announced it will begin construction in the second half of 2014 on a new paint facility on its main campus in North Charleston, South Carolina. The company expects to begin painting fully assembled 787 Dreamliners in South Carolina in mid-2016.

The approximately 230,000 square-foot (21,368 m2) facility will be used to apply customer liveries to Boeing South Carolina (BSC)-built 787s. Today all BSC-built 787s are flown to Fort Worth, Texas, for final paint and then flown back to South Carolina for customer delivery.

The company also announced it acquired access to a total of 468 acres (189 hectares) in North Charleston, S.C., to protect for potential future growth in South Carolina through a long-term lease with Palmetto Railways, a division of the S.C. Department of Commerce. In addition to the 267 acres (108 hectares) sold by the Charleston County Aviation Authority, another 201 acres (81 hectares) of land in North Charleston were purchased with state bond funds allocated to Boeing. Owned by Palmetto Railways, the land will be leased to Boeing under a long- term lease. The company has an option to purchase all of the 468 acres (189 hectares) at the end of the initial lease term at the end of 2027.

“This expansion makes future growth in North Charleston possible. While we expect to begin the permitting process immediately for this property, we have no specific plans for the land other than where we will locate the new paint facility,” said Jones.

As part of the site expansion, beginning in January 2014, Boeing will construct a new 10,000 square-foot (929.03 m2) fully equipped fire station at its main campus, which is expected to be operational by late 2014. The company will add a second autoclave in 2016 to support aftbody composite fabrication for previously announced 787 program rate increases.

“We’ve been busy here in South Carolina this year,” said Jones. “Our BSC teammates have not only been ramping to rate in component and airplane production, but they’re doing it in the middle of construction zones. Our commitment to South Carolina is visibly demonstrated every day as our growth and expansion continues. I don’t expect that ending anytime soon.”

Since late 2012, Boeing has been expanding its main South Carolina site to create more efficiencies and capabilities in production to meet committed 787 build rates. Under previously announced expansion plans, the company is adding 391,000 square feet (36,325 m2) to its aftbody fabrication and assembly building; 42,000 square feet (3,901.9 m2) to its aft and midbody component paint facility; 67,000 square feet (6,224.5 m2) in office and meeting space to its final assembly building; and a new 94,000 square-foot (8,732.9 m2) Dreamlifter Operations Center, to be completed in the first quarter of 2014. The midbody component assembly facility is undergoing construction to add additional capacity and efficiency on the production floor.

In 2013, Boeing announced plans to establish IT Centers of Excellence and an Engineering Design Center, along with plans to build a new Propulsion facility in South Carolina. In November, Boeing broke ground on the new 220,000 square-foot (2,0439 m2) facility located in Palmetto Commerce Park in North Charleston (Ladson area) that will house its new 737-MAX propulsion assembly work, scheduled to begin in mid-2015.

Boeing is currently considering offers from 22 states for a possible site to build the proposed 777X airplane. South Carolina is probably one of those states. Is Charleston International Airport (CHS) the new Paine Field (PAE)?