Boeing has started a $1bn expansion of its 787 production facility in South Carolina, the company said on Friday (November 7).
The new expansion is set to increase production to a rate of 10 airplanes per month in 2026.
Boeing said the new expansion will allow the site to support higher 787 production rates “given strong market demand”.
The expansion includes a new final assembly line similar in size to the current final assembly building, which is around 1.2 million square feet. The company is also adding a parts preparation area facility, a vertical fin paint facility, flight line stalls, amongst other additions.
“We continue to see strong demand for the 787 Dreamliner family and its market-leading efficiency and versatility,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO and president Stephanie Pope. “We are making this significant investment today to ensure Boeing is ready to meet our customer's needs in the years and decades ahead.”
Boeing has delivered over 1,200 deliveries of the 787, with the backlog at nearly 1,000. The widebody model gained over 300 orders this year alone.