Boeing
Boeing Buys Alenia's Half Of Dreamliner Factory
The Wall Street Journal (12/23, B2, Sanders) reports Boeing has bought out Alenia North America's half of a South Carolina fuselage subassembly plant for the 787 Dreamliner. Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing's commercial airplane division, said this will "increase productivity for the 787 program and allow us to maintain our long-term competitiveness." According to the article, this purchase also indicates Boeing could renegotiate terms with its suppliers regarding Dreamliner delays.
Bloomberg News (12/22, Ray, Norton) notes Boeing owned the other half of the plant after it acquired Vought Aircraft Industries' part in the Global Aeronautica joint venture with Alenia. "The former Vought factory makes the rear sections of the composite fuselage for the Dreamliner. Boeing decided in October to build a new factory, adjacent to the Vought and Global Aeronautica plants, to speed up Dreamliner production." The New York Times (12/23, B8), Boston Globe (12/23), AFP (12/23), Dow Jones Newswires (12/22), Financial Times (12/23, Weitzman), and MarketWatch (12/23, Hinton), also covered the story.
