Boeing closes N. Charleston deal

BUSINESS WIRE

Global Aeronautica assembles Boeing 787 fuselage sections that are flown to its North Charleston plant from Grottaglie, Italy, and Japan.

Boeing Co., in an effort to gain more hands-on control over the delivery of parts for its 787 jet, said Wednesday it had finalized a deal to acquire half of a North Charleston-based supplier.

Boeing announced in March that it was buying a 50 percent stake in Global Aeronautica LLC from Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Boeing is now an owner in the joint venture with Alenia North America, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Italy's Alenia Aeronautica.

"As a partner ... Boeing looks forward to applying its proven lean manufacturing expertise to enhance the efficiency and productivity of the facility's operations and ensure the timely delivery of high-quality assemblies to our Everett, Washington, facility," Pat Shanahan, general manager of the aerospace giant's 787 program, said in a statement.

The announcement came a day after Boeing led a media tour of its North Charleston suppliers, partly to show that the production schedule of the new airplane is getting back on track.

The launch of the Dreamliner, which is being made from lightweight composite materials instead of aluminum, has been delayed several times by glitches in Boeing's global supply chain. Some of those problems created a backlog in North Charleston, focusing attention on Vought and Global Aeronautica.

The first 787 is now scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter of 2009. Roughly 1,100 workers, including independent contractors, are in North Charleston to ensure that that deadline is met.

Inside the Global Aeronautica plant at Charleston International Airport, mid-fuselage sections from Italy and Japan are joined together and equipped with thousands of internal components. The company then

attaches those pieces to rear fuselage "barrels" made by Vought in a factory next door. The finished product is flown to Boeing's final assembly line near Seattle.

In all, more than 60 percent of the 787 airframe is made off International Boulevard.

Dallas-based Vought has said it decided to exit the Global Aeronautica venture after determining the highly complicated nature of the work required Boeing's hands-on expertise and oversight. Bob Noble, Boeing's vice president in charge of the 787 contractors, agreed.

"There came a time in our discussions when we realized that Boeing's experience might bring some better opportunities to Global Aeronautica," Noble said Tuesday in North Charleston. "There really isn't anything deeper than that. It's more like the work we do in Everett. ... I really don't think it was a bridge too far. ...This just seemed a natural change to make to allow the program to fulfill its opportunities."

Vought's portion of the 787 project is not affected by the sale of its stake in Global Aeronautica.

Kyle Stock of The Post and Courier contributed to this report.