States scramble for slice of Boeing's business
LIVE QUOTE |
Quotes delayed 15+ min. |
Other factors going into a decision on where to put a second line revolves around Boeing's strained relations with its biggest union. A strike last year shut down airplane production for nearly two months and cost the company an estimated $2 billion in lost revenue.
To prevent that from happening again, Boeing reportedly is pushing its union for a “no-strike” clause in future contracts. IAM District 751 President Tom Wroblewski has said his membership would first have to ratify such a proposal.
In a letter to its members Wednesday, Wroblewski said: “Boeing has not approached us with any formal proposal on this. We're open to talking about anything that will bring more jobs for our membership, and if Boeing has proposals that would ensure we'll be building Boeing airplanes here in Puget Sound for generations to come, we'll certainly listen.”
Analyst Richard Aboulafia with the Teal Group in Fairfax, Va., agreed that Charleston would be an ideal location for a second 787 assembly line, mainly because of tax incentives that would be made available and ample space for assembly lines and paint hangars.
Aboulafia predicted that over the next 10 years, Boeing's commercial airplane division will move to Southern states with weaker unions and right-to-work laws that diminish union power. “It's easier to train flexible workers than it is to work with experienced but inflexible trained workers,'' he said.
But he says talk of a second 787 production line is premature, noting that Boeing is more concerned about securing its supply chain and undoing mistakes than scouting future locations for a second assembly line.
“This is still a story about rescuing the 787,'' said Aboulafia. “Boeing is a long, long way from having the luxury of being able to consider where to place a second assembly line. I'm concerned that this is a plane we still don't know a lot about.”
Boeing's 787 program, despite record orders from airlines, has been plagued by production snafus and costly delays. The company's unprecedented plan to give wide-ranging design and production responsibilities to outside partners has proved troublesome.
By taking control of Vought's manufacturing operations, Boeing hopes to speed up unfinished 787 work and iron out ongoing production problems at the Charleston plant.
Vought, which makes sections of the 787's rear fuselage, has long been viewed as a problem partner for Boeing and has contributed to two years of costly delays on the so-called Dreamliner, which was supposed to make its first flight last month. That flight has been postponed indefinitely.
Two years ago when Vought delivered the first rear sections to Boeing, they were unfinished shells without wiring. Boeing's original plan for the 787 was to have completed sections of the airplane shipped to its massive assembly plant in Everett, where they would be snapped together like a super sophisticated Erector Set.
Boeing's purchase of the Charleston plant, comes a year after Boeing bought Vought's stake in a joint venture with Alenia Aeronautica of the adjacent mid-fuselage assembly plant. Both facilities are about 340,000 square feet and are located next to each other on a 240-acre site. Vought, based in Dallas, Texas, is owned by the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm.
Vought President and CEO Elmer Doty said his company's investment in 787 parts was far greater than expected, and that the financial demands of the program "are clearly growing beyond what a company our size can support."
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM AVIATION |
 Aviation Section Front |
| Add Aviation headlines to your news reader: |