Aerospace manufacturing continues to soar. For example, through March 31, Boeing's commercial aircraft division had a backlog of 5,835 orders, while rival Airbus had a backlog of 7,189 jets.
LINCOLN, NE—Kawasaki has been assembling parts for Boeing for more than 60 years, but earlier this month, it started making them in the U.S. for the first time. On May 1, Kawasaki began manufacturing cargo doors for Boeing’s new 777X jet at its assembly plant here, which already makes train cars, personal watercraft, ATVs and utility vehicles.
WICHITA, KS—Spirit AeroSystems, which assembles the fuselages for the Boeing 737, is planning to boost production to meet Boeing’s goal of producing 57 jets per month.
STERLING HEIGHTS, MI—Boeing Corp. and KUKA Systems are hosting a day-long summit Feb. 6 to help aerospace suppliers find their niche in the supply chains of the two companies. KUKA and Boeing have identified more than 50 procurement needs for which they would like to find suppliers.
The 2nd annual Manufacturing Day was held nationwide last Friday. Hundreds of manufacturers opened their doors to students to give them a glimpse into the world of 21st century production processes.
MONTREAL—Aerospace supplier Aerolia has leased a 7,300-square-meter building here to make fuselage assemblies for Bombardier business jets. The facility is expected to create 150 jobs.
ROCKFORD, IL—Woodward Inc., a manufacturer of pumps, valves, actuators and other aerospace components, will invest more than $200 million to build a new assembly plant here, creating 660 jobs over the next five years.
