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Boeing Rolls Out
First 787 Dreamliner Built In South Carolina By Shane Nolan |
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April 29, 2012 - The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner to be assembled in South Carolina rolled out of final assembly on Friday to great fanfare from the crowd of nearly 7,000 Boeing employees and invited guests.
The festival-like atmosphere, featuring aerial displays,
music and entertainment, was a fitting celebration to
commemorate assembly completion of the first 787 built
at the North Charleston, South Carolina facility. The airplane's rollout marks the first time that a Boeing commercial airplane has been produced in the Southeastern United States. |
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"This
is a proud moment for Boeing as we roll out an airplane from
our third final assembly site," said Jim Albaugh, president
and chief executive officer, Commercial Airplanes. "Today I
welcome the South Carolina team into a small and elite
fraternity a fraternity of workers who have built one of the
most complex machines in the world a commercial airplane."
Boeing announced that it had selected North Charleston, S.C., as the location for the second 787 final assembly line on Oct. 28, 2009, and broke ground on the site in November of that year. The South Carolina final assembly facility was completed in June 2011, and production began later that same month.
"Every one
of our South Carolina teammates should be extremely proud of
this historic accomplishment," said Jack Jones, Boeing South
Carolina vice president and general manager. "This team has
shown that we can build airplanes in South Carolina that meet
the high Boeing quality standards, and do so with an exceptional
workplace safety record." "We'll celebrate today, and tomorrow we begin the process of getting the airplane ready for delivery to our Air India customer," said Jones. "What this team continues to achieve is remarkable, and is the result of the team's energy and dedication, as well as the great partnerships with the Boeing enterprise, Commercial Airplanes, the 787 Dreamliner program, our suppliers, local community and the state of South Carolina. It's the outstanding support we've received from each one of these groups that has made this day possible." |