Boeing to invest $1B in South Carolina plant to double 787 Dreamliner output

[boeing airplane factory Charleston]
oliver de la haye

Boeing (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) plans to invest more than $1 billion in expanding its 787 Dreamliner factory in South Carolina, part of a major effort to double production of its best-selling widebody jet as global demand rises, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

The expansion is expected to create over 1,000 jobs in five years. It will nearly double Boeing’s footprint near Charleston International Airport, where about 8,200 employees currently work. The facility remains nonunionized, even as a strike continues at Boeing’s (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) defense operations in Missouri.

Company officials said the investment will raise Boeing’s (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) total spending on the site to about $3.5 billion over 15 years. Once the new assembly lines open in 2028, Boeing (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) expects to produce around 16 Dreamliners a month, surpassing its pre-pandemic peak.

Industry analysts say the push will help Boeing (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) capitalize on record backlogs for its 787 and 737 Max programs but warn that the planemaker remains dependent on strained supply chains for critical materials like titanium. One analyst said Boeing’s (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) growth strategy makes sense financially, but its pace “will ultimately depend on whether suppliers can keep up.”

The rapid ramp-up also comes as Boeing (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) continues addressing quality issues at the South Carolina site, where past inspections revealed minor structural flaws on some aircraft.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster joined executives at Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony. Bessent said Boeing (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg recently praised President Donald Trump for his role in boosting aircraft sales, humorously presenting him with a “salesman of the year” award.

Boeing (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) plans to begin hiring mechanics, engineers and logistics specialists next summer to prepare for the production increase, giving new employees a year of training before operations scale up, Bloomberg News reported.

Despite tensions over delayed Air Force One jets, Trump has been one of Boeing’s (BA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BA]) most visible advocates, with Bessent recalling the former president’s quip: “Tell them they owe me two Air Force Ones.”

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