SEATTLE—Boeing and the University of Washington are taking their collaboration to greater heights with a new campus research center where doctoral engineering students, UW professors and Boeing engineers will work side by side on projects focused on automating aircraft assembly processes.
ST. LOUIS—Boeing has commenced construction of a new 367,000-square-foot composites manufacturing facility, which will build parts for the new 777X. The facility is expected to employ 700.
CHICAGO—Zodiac Aerospace is struggling to meet demand for luxury seats for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, putting the aerospace giant at risk of missing its 2014 delivery target.
SEATTLE—Lean manufacturing has enabled Boeing to make dramatic improvements in efficiency. Assembly time for the 777 jetliner has been reduced from 71 days to 37. Assembly time for the 737 jetliner has been cut from 20 days to 11.
SMITHFIELD, PA—Boeing will expand its factory here, where the company makes complex electronic assemblies. Boeing expects to add 168 new jobs over the next three years, doubling the facility’s workforce.
EVERETT, WA—Boeing has begun construction on its $1 billion 777X Composite Wing Center here. The facility will make the largest wings Boeing has ever built—114 feet long and 23 feet wide.
CHICAGO—The Boeing Co. projects air cargo traffic will grow at an annual rate of 4.7 percent over the next 20 years, with global air freight traffic expected to more than double by 2033.
Manually assembling small parts isn’t that difficult. Inserting a screw into a hole or a wire into a connector is simply a matter of hand-eye coordination. Assembling larger parts, like, say, the multiton fuselage sections of a jetliner, is whole other matter.
