Final assembly site
Now controlling a large site of land in South Carolina, where 60 percent of 787 assembly was already taking place, Boeing announced in October 2009 that it would build a new 787 Dreamliner final assembly and delivery line in North Charleston.[12] Boeing said that the second production line was necessary to "meet the market demand for the airplane," but it came amid tense negotiations between the company and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union representing workers in Everett who had recently gone on strike.[13] South Carolina's unionisation rates, the lowest in the country at 2.7%, were stated by Boeing management as a reason to transfer production to there.[14] IAM said the decision was retaliatory and National Labor Relations Board agreed, filing a lawsuit against the company in April 2011. The lawsuit was dropped in December after IAM withdrew its complaint as part of a new contract with Boeing, clearing the way for production to begin in South Carolina.[15] Since then, Boeing has continued to challenge the rights of unions to organize at the plant,[16][17] and is alleged to have fired workers for their attempts to unionize.[18]
Ground was broken for the new 1200000 sqft final assembly building in November 2009. The building contains eight positions for aircraft assembly and multiple floors of offices, conference rooms, and equipment storage. 18,000 tons of structural steel was used during the assembly and the building is 1,041 feet long by 618 feet wide.[4] The building also hosted 10 acre of solar panels on the roof that could generate up to 2.6 megawatts of electricity that was able to power the plant and giant autoclaves. The solar panels were removed in 2022. Limited production began in July 2011, with the first airplane rolling out of the final assembly on April 27, 2012, taking its first flight on May 23, and delivered to Air India on October 5.
In addition to the new final assembly building and existing aft fuselage production, midbody assembly and Dreamlifter operations buildings, Boeing also opened a delivery center at the site in November 2011.[19] The center contains office space and conference rooms to meet with customers buying new planes, along with two jet bridges. A 360000 sqft two-bay paint facility was added in 2016, allowing Dreamliners to be painted on site, instead of being flown elsewhere.[20]
The first 787−10 was rolled out on February 17, 2017, and was considered a major achievement for the South Carolina factory, as it would be the first Boeing airliner variant assembled exclusively there.[21] The Everett plant was unable to build the −10 because the mid-fuselage sections are too large to fit inside the Dreamlifter.[22]
Undertaking drastic cost-cutting measures in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting impact on aviation, Boeing announced on October 1, 2020, that it would consolidate all of its 787 assembly at the South Carolina factory.[23][24] The move was completed in February 2021. A second assembly line at the factory was opened in 2024 and a third is planned to be added in 2028 once a 1.2 e6sqft expansion is completed.[25]
