Boeing to make 787 in Charleston

The lightweight Boeing 787 Dreamliner has experienced more than its share of delays, but that didn't stop the folks in Charleston, S.C., from celebrating the company's decision to make that city the site of a second assembly plant for the revolutionary aircraft. The first assembly plant is in Everett, Wash., but Boeing says it needs a second line so it can eventually deliver as many as 10 of the wide-body jets per month, according to this story from The Seattle Times. Although production of the 787 has been delayed several times, airline companies are eager to buy the Dreamliners because the revolutionary fuel-saving design. Boeing already has a plant in Charleston where it employs 900 fabricating single-piece rear-fuselage barrels out of composites. The company also has an adjacent joint venture plant that employs 1,600 assembling the central fuselage, according to the story. With the new assembly line, the company expects to add 3,800 new jobs in South Carolina. That sort of investment will quickly make South Carolina a major force in high-tech composite plastic design and manufacturing.