Boeing’s big expansion advances

Charleston Post and Courier
Katy Stech
April 5, 2010

Progress is humming at the Boeing Co. ‘s 787 Dreamliner assembly site in North Charleston.

Recent permit filings with the state Department of Health and Environmental Control show how the company’s construction phases are advancing.

Company officials have applied to build a temporary office building, which will be made up of 40 trailer units that are bolted together. The space will be used by construction officials from general contractor BE&K/Turner Construction and Boeing project managers.

Construction crews also plan to set up a concrete batch plant, which will cut back on cement truck traffic, Boeing Charleston spokeswoman Candy Eslinger said in an e-mail.

Meanwhile, officials have also fixed what they referred to as a “parking crisis” at the company’s two existing fuselage plants at Charleston International Airport.

“Due to a significant number of orders placed for (the 787) aircraft, Boeing has increased production virtually overnight, which has fortunately required them to hire a significant number of new employees,” a site engineer wrote in a permit application. “With this increase in employees and overlapping of shifts, a short term parking crisis has resulted.”

After the permit was approved, the company tripled the number of spaces available to a total of 1,200. Before the new spaces, workers had to park on grassy medians and makeshift spots between buildings when the parking lot filled.

The 787 assembly plant is set to open in mid-2011. The first plane is expected to roll off the production line in the first quarter of 2012.

In-migration

A Seattle construction company that has worked on more than 100 Boeing-related projects has opened a Lowcountry branch.

Schuchart Corporation, a 22-year-old firm, could be a familiar face to Boeing executives among contractors who want to do aerospace work throughout the Lowcountry. The company says it has worked with the aerospace giant on projects including industrial, manufacturing, stand alone buildings and more.

The company is angling to work with Boeing and its future suppliers in Charleston, according to a press release. Chris Burrell, a former development manager for CC&T Real Estate Services, will head the local operation.

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