Thursday, September 21, 2006

Goodrich engine plant is opened in Everett

By JAMES WALLACE
P-I AEROSPACE REPORTER

EVERETT -- When The Boeing Co. selected its widebody jetliner plant here to be the final assembly site for its new 787, politicians hoped a number of major suppliers would follow the Dreamliner and set up shop nearby, bringing hundreds more jobs to the area.
Gov. Chris Gregoire even led a state trade mission to the Paris Air Show in June 2005 to try to persuade foreign suppliers to locate facilities near Boeing's Everett plant. She talked with nearly a dozen companies, but has acknowledged that the results have been disappointing.

But one major 787 supplier did come -- Goodrich. On Wednesday, Goodrich executives officially opened the doors of their recently completed 140,000-square-foot plant where workers will prepare the engines for the 787 before they are attached to the Dreamliner during final assembly.

Employment at the Goodrich plant should peak at about 80 by 2008. The first flight of the Dreamliner is set for the fall of 2007. It will enter airline service in spring 2008.

"By locating right next to 787 final assembly, we can better serve our Boeing customer with just-in-time inventory, close collaboration and real-time issue resolution," said Dave Castagnola, vice president of Boeing programs for Goodrich Aerostructures.

He attended Wednesday's opening. So did the governor.

Gregoire recounted her air-show trip two years ago and said Goodrich is bringing "good-paying family jobs" to the area.

Goodrich has an aircraft-maintenance facility at nearby Paine Field, and it also operates a landing-gear facility next to the new building where it will perform the 787 engine work.
Those General Electric and Rolls-Royce engines that will power the 787 will begin arriving at the Goodrich plant early next year. Goodrich is responsible for integration of the nacelle hardware to the engines, including the 13-foot-diameter inlet that attaches to the front of the engines. The cowling is too big to be shipped by highway to the plant, so it will be assembled here, painted and then attached to the engines, along with the three-piece engine nozzle.

The engines will then be moved by truck less than a quarter mile to the Boeing final assembly plant. Goodrich is also responsible for the huge thrust reversers, but these will be attached to the 787 engines at the Boeing plant.

Boeing's former commercial airplane division in Wichita, Kan., has supplied the engine nacelles on most of the past Boeing jetliner programs, but that facility, now owned by a Canadian company, is supplying only the pylons that will connect the 787 engines to the wings. Wichita is also manufacturing the forward 787 fuselage, including the nose and cockpit.

The Dreamliner, the world's first jetliner with a composite airframe, will be assembled much differently from Boeing's current jets. Large fuselage sections and the wings will arrive at the Everett plant on a modified 747 freighter from Wichita and Charleston, S.C., as well as from Italy and Japan.

Boeing expects to turn out a completed 787 during final assembly at its Everett plant in only a few days, though that won't happen for several years after the start of production.
David Kaupke, Goodrich's program manager for the 787 engine inlet, said Goodrich will have a GE or Rolls-Royce engine ready for Boeing two days after it arrives at the Goodrich plant.

"This is an innovative site for an innovative airplane," said Curtis Reusser, president of Goodrich Aerostructures. "Lean principles have affected every aspect of this building, from the utility infrastructure to the flow of material through the building, enabling us to better meet the needs of the game-changing airplane program."

In addition to the engine nacelle hardware, the Goodrich 787 work package from Boeing includes the 787 flight-deck lighting system and cabin-attendant seats, the cargo system, the 787 wheels and electric brakes, the exterior lighting and the fuel-quantity indicating system.

Goodrich said it has invested about $20 million in its Everett engine plant this year, including tooling. Additional investments will be made in 2007, the company said. Goodrich was able to take advantage of a multibillion-dollar incentive package, including tax breaks, that the Legislature passed to persuade Boeing to build the Dreamliner in Everett.