MOBILE, AL—The first major components for A320 airliners have arrived at Airbus’ new assembly plant here. Ulrich Weber, vice president of the factory, says airplane production will begin in July after the wings, stabilizers and fuselages move through testing stations.
TITUSVILLE, FL—Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer SA will build an airplane seat assembly plant here. The facility is expected to employ 150 people.
EVERETT, WA—Through the first five months of this year, Boeing Co. is well on its way to meeting its goal for Dreamliner deliveries. Boeing’s assembly plants in South Carolina and Washington have produced 54 jets through May. At the current rate, the company will produce 130 Dreamliners by the end of the year.
MOBILE, AL—Airbus’ newly hired U.S. manufacturing employees arrived back home in Mobile May 31 after six or more months of training in Hamburg, Germany.
BLAGNAC, France—Airbus is poised to increase assembly of the A350 after getting off to a deliberately slow start to curb risks. After delivering one aircraft in December and another in the first quarter, Airbus expects to deliver six aircraft between now and August.
EVERETT, WA—Boeing will shut down a temporary extra assembly line used to build 787 Dreamliners at the end of this year and convert it for use in early production of the forthcoming 777X jet. Two final assembly lines in Everett are currently producing seven 787s per month. Workers on the temporary line, known as the “surge line,” will transition to the other assembly line, which will step up production to match the rate from both assembly lines.
SOUTH BEND, IN—It’s 20 feet tall, weighs about 400,000 pounds and is now making its way from South Bend to Connecticut: It's the world's largest friction welding machine. Pratt & Whitney will use the machine, made by Manufacturing Technology Inc., to weld large-diameter jet engine components.
SEATTLE—Employees at one of Boeing’s Washington assembly plants are using an odd looking tablet PC with a dozen or more 0.63-millimeter silver balls attached to it. This is Boeing’s vision of the future of augmented reality integrated on the assembly line.
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