EVERETT — The Boeing Co. said it will close its second, temporary 787 assembly line here by the end of the year. The closure will mean picking up the pace on the main 787 production line and at the 787 factory in South Carolina.
An initial assembly line for the 777X program will take its place in the 40-24 building.
Workers on the so-called “surge line” will be moved to either Everett’s main 787 line or to other airplane programs around metro Puget Sound, Boeing executives said Friday.
Boeing has about 40,000 employees at the Paine Field site, where it produces twin-aisle jetliners.
The move is possible because production of the 787 is going more smoothly and more efficiently in both Everett and North Charleston, South Carolina, the executives said.
“It’s a strong testament to the maturity and stabilization of the production systems both in Everett and in Charleston,” said Larry Loftis, the Boeing vice president who runs the 787 program. “The last airplane will load onto the surge line in October and roll out of the factory at the end of the year.”
Since Dreamliner assembly began in Everett, the program has been dogged by delays from supply chain kinks and design and production problems. It still costs more to build a 787 than its price tag. Analysts expect the company to break even on production costs by next year.
In 2012, the aerospace giant opened a second assembly site in South Carolina. But the workforce struggled with the advanced airplane’s steep learning curve.
So Boeing opened the Everett surge line that year to get airplanes to waiting customers.
Boeing has made big gains in 787 production in recent years, especially in South Carolina. “This is something that’s been maturing for a couple years now,” Loftis said.
“This timing really allows us the smoothest transition from the 10 airplanes a month that we’re at now to the planned increase in rate to 12 airplanes a month in 2016,” he said.
Currently, Everett assembles seven Dreamliners per month and South Carolina workers turn out three.
Closing the Everett surge line means increasing production on Everett’s main 787 line from four airplanes a month to seven. Boeing doesn’t plan any further Dreamliner production increases here.
Instead, Boeing plans to make more 787s in South Carolina. It plans to boost production there from three to five per month next year, for a combined total of 12 airplanes per month by the two sites.
North Charleston is slated to go to seven airplanes a month in 2020. It will be the only site assembling the biggest Dreamliner, the 787-10.
Earlier this year, Beverly Wyse, a company vice president, took over South Carolina production. She was credited with leading a major production rate increase on the 737 program in Renton.
“Traveled” work — assembly tasks done out of sequence — is down a lot, said a mechanic who works on the 787 flight line at Boeing’s Paine Field plant.
“I have to say, they’re getting better,” said the worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk about the program publicly. “They’re more complete as they come out of the factory.”
Dreamliner production is not problem-free, though.
High-end seat producer Zodiac Aerospace is still struggling to meet demand. Late deliveries of seats have delayed final delivery of 787s to some customers this year.
After the surge line closes, the 777X program’s initial low-rate production line will move into the 40-24 building. Boeing has not announced which contractors will produce the tooling and machining for that line.
Janicki Industries in Sedro-Woolley has produced tooling for production of some component prototypes, according to people familiar with the work.
Boeing plans to complete major 777X design work by late 2015.
The first plane will be on the production line in 2018, said Bob Feldman, a Boeing vice president with the 777X program.
Eventually, the 777X and 777 classic production lines will merge, he said.
Having space in which to set up the initial 777X production line early means less risk, he said. “It’s very difficult to quantify. This is a new airplane with a new wing.”
“Time is one of the most important commodities you have in the development of a new airplane,” he said.
The 777X team is developing prototypes for some of the most complex parts of the airplane, including folding wingtips, the wing-body join and the main structure of the carbon-fiber-composite wing, Feldman said. “It’s all going according to plan.”
Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.
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