Boeing Takes Additional Steps to Strengthen Production
SEATTLE, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing to make full use
of it scompanywide resources, Boeing Commercial Airplane
Group (BCAG) announcedadditional steps today to strengthen its
production situation.
BCAG intends to fly some 737s to its Douglas Products
Division in Long Beach, Calif., for specialized work. Five
airplanes are Next-Generation 737s that will be converted from a
flight-test configuration to a customer configuration in
preparation for delivery. Five additional 737s will receive
"finishing," which can involve a rangeof tasks, including
interior installation. All of the airplanes will return to
Seattle for painting and delivery.
In addition, BCAG will begin transferring delivery work on
some 757 airplanes from Renton and Boeing Field in Seattle to
its Everett, Wash., facility. The first 757 will fly to Everett
next week to be readied for customer delivery. With this move,
crews normally assigned to 757 delivery tasks will be able to
assist with 737 pre-flight and delivery work. Some 757s will
continue to be delivered from Boeing Field.
BCAG also announced that it is considering starting
a Next-Generation 737 production line in Long Beach. The
initial planis that this production line would focus primarily
on final assembly of airplanes that have significantly different
configurations than Next-Generation 737s ordered by most airline
customers. For instance, Boeing Business Jets and 737-700C
(convertible freighter version) airplanes might be assembled on
this line. The main 737 production lines in Renton would be able
to focus on high-volume production of airplanes for commercial
passenger transport.
This capability would also provide additional flexibility
for accommodating future changes in production rates and model
mix. As a result, the company indicated that it is possible BCAG
would assemble other Next-Generation 737 models in Long Beach.
"We're reviewing the business case for establishing a
Next-Generation 737 line in Long Beach and we expect to make a
final decision by this summer," said Fred Mitchell, BCAG
executive vice president -Airplane Production.
"Our employees have been doing a great job in an extremely
demanding period," said Mitchell. "So we've been aggressively
studying how to better balance our work load and meet customer
commitments. This is an excellent opportunity to use all of the
resources and facilities available to us as we continue to focus
on improving production."
Mitchell added, "We'd like to be able to take advantage of the
well-trained and experienced work force at Douglas Products
Division, which has a long and distinguished history of
commercial airplane production."
These steps outlined here would not be expected to result in
layoffs in Puget Sound, and may mean recalling some people in
Long Beach.
SOURCE Boeing Commercial Airplane Group
CONTACT: Sean O'Donnell, 425-237-6193, or John Thom,
562-496-7473, both of Boeing//Company News On-Call:
prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 109119/
/Web site: boeing.com |
