Charleston Regional Development Alliance

Berkeley, Charleston & Dorchester Counties

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Half of steel erected in Boeing’s new Dreamliner plant in North Charleston

Jul. 27, 2010
Charleston Regional Business Journal
By Staff
Steel erection at the Boeing Co.’s new final assembly plant in North Charleston has passed the 50% complete mark, and is on schedule for an October 2010 completion, the firm designing and building the structure said.

BE&K/Turner, design-builder for the Boeing Charleston 787 expansion, began steel erection in March and set the first steel trusses in May.

Tara Robertson, Community Affairs Director for BE&K/Turner, said the record so far for hiring minority-owned subcontractors and other historically underutilized businesses for the Boeing project is substantial.

“As of July 1, 2010, of the nearly $187 million, or 73.55%, of available trade direct volume awarded to date, 27.17% has been committed to diverse firms,” Robertson said.

BE&K/Turner’s Kenny Anderson, construction manager, said more than 75% of the trade contracts have been awarded to South Carolina companies, a large percentage of which are Lowcountry-based or tapping into the local work force.

“Actually, 89.65% of work has been awarded to South Carolina firms when taking into account that some services and materials — such as the Four-Hook Bridge Cranes and Hangar Doors — are not available in the South Carolina marketplace,” Anderson said.

Boeing’s South Carolina 787 expansion, for which the joint venture is teamed with design partner BRPH, represents BE&K/Turner’s 12th major project together. The BE&K/Turner/BRPH design-build team is headquartered at the Building Group’s regional office in Greenville. 		related information