Boeing 787 final Assembly and Delivery, Charleston facility taking shape

Boeing took another visible step toward full 787 Dreamliner production on April 5th, by placing the first steel column for its Charleston 787 Final Assembly and Delivery facility. Boeing Charleston fabricates, assembles and installs systems for 787 aft fuselage sections and joins and integrates midbody fuselage sections from other structural partners. With the new, 1.2-million-square-foot (92,903-square-meter) building, Boeing will perform final assembly and deliver 787s from North Charleston to customers around the world. Construction on the new facility is on schedule, with production due to begin in July 2011. Boeing will deliver the first 787 built in Charleston in first-quarter 2012. To date, 90% of the Boeing direct-contracted dollars for the project have been with South-Carolina-based companies.