Boeing has announced the selection of its Everett, Washington, site as the location for a new composite wing centre for the 777X program.

Boeing evaluated criteria that were designed to find the wing fabrication location that would best support the 777X business plan.

The new composite wing centre will be located north of the Everett factory and will sustain thousands of Puget Sound area jobs for years to come.

“Locating the new composite wing centre in Everett is a win for all of our teammates and partners,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Ray Conner.

“This will put our workforce on the cutting edge of composite technology and allow us to build on the infrastructure and logistics system we have in Everett.

“This decision will strengthen the company’s competitiveness and help it grow for the long term.”

Boeing selected the Everett site for 777X final assembly following the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers District 751 approval of an eight-year contract extension earlier this year.

As part of the contract extension, the company agreed to fabricate the parts for, and assemble, the 777X composite wings in the Puget Sound region.

After studying several options, the company determined that the Everett site will meet its business needs for fabrication and assembly.

“This marks the first step in a bricks and mortar commitment by Boeing to build a facility that will be home to the jobs and technology of tomorrow – not in a foreign country or a distant state, but right here in the Pacific Northwest,” said IAM president Tom Buffenbarger.

The new facility will support fabrication of the 777X composite wings and will be approximately one million square feet.
Construction on the new facility is scheduled to begin later this year.

Assembly of the composite wings will also take place at the company’s Everett site, with the exact location to be determined in the months ahead.