Exact size of Boeing plant still up in the air
By Katy Stech
The Post and Courier
Monday, December 14, 2009
Boeing Co.'s final North Charleston assembly plant, where workers will begin piecing together 787 Dreamliner jets in less than two years, has expanded in size in the weeks since the $750 million project was announced.
The final assembly building originally was pegged at 584,000 square feet.
Marketing brochures later were changed to say 610,000 square feet.
A state environmental permit application puts the square footage at 731,261.
Turner and BRPH Architects-Engineers
This image is an artist’s rendering of the future facility for Boeing’s Co. second line in North Charleston. Dreamliner production is expected to begin there in July 2011.
And a flier distributed at last week's information sessions for the local construction industry listed the building's size at a whooping 955,320 square feet.
Has the building nearly doubled in size in a matter of weeks? And does the extra space have anything to do with the company's plan to expand the Charleston site's manufacturing capabilities to hedge against a union strike, as suggested by recent media report?
The project's newly appointed general manager, Marco Cavazzoni, shed some light on the situation. The 955,320-square-foot figure, he explained, includes three floors of office space on top of the building's footprint.
He added that the most accurate size is 610,000 square feet for the building's footprint, but noted that the building's plans are changing.
"If you ask me this question in 60 days, (I'll have) a more accurate answer," he said.
An expanding assembly building could raise eyebrows in Washington after The Seattle Times reported that the company plans to replicate production of all 787 Dreamliner parts now made in the Puget Sound area "so that a second final-assembly line being established in North Charleston can operate independently."
Design plans submitted to the city of North Charleston call for a tail fin and rudder shop to be constructed on Boeing's nearly 380-acre property at Charleston International Airport. That section of the plane now is made near Tacoma, Wash.
Cavazzoni declined to say whether a tail fin and rudder shop is in the works for North Charleston, saying he'd "rather wait for the official answer for Boeing."
The official answer, for now, goes like this: "We have not made any supplier or site selections to support" the new North Charleston plant, according to a statement.
"We have an established process in place for selecting suppliers based on capabilities, ability to provide high quality components and at best value. As part of our selection process, we review suppliers' technical expertise and will ensure the right level of training and oversight is in place to make sure performance standards are met.
"We must complete the process before we name any suppliers or sites."
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