Boeing 2nd assembly line the buzz

Boeing may buy supplier Vought Aircraft Industries’ plant in North Charleston, S.C., and establish a second 787 assembly plant there. The plant makes fuselage sections for the 787, but the purchase would put more of the 787 program directly under Boeing’s control. Analysts say it would make sense as a way to cope with the backlog of orders for the program, already two years behind schedule. Washington state wants to keep a second line in Puget Sound, but South Carolina is a right to work state and was in the running in 2003 when Boeing was looking to build the 787 outside of Washington. (Sources: Multiple, including Charlotte Business Journal, Dallas News, Seattle Times, 07/02/09) Gulf Coast note: Mobile, Ala., and Hancock County, Miss., were both among the finalists for the 787 plant in 2003.