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Aircraft maker Boeing is launching a production line at its Salt Lake City plant that will make vertical tail-fin assemblies for its new 787 Dreamliner.
The line, which began operations with 45 employees, went into production this week. It is expected in the fourth quarter to deliver its first fin assembly to Boeing's South Carolina operations, where the fuel-efficient passenger jet will be assembled.
The long-delayed, much-anticipated Dreamliner is undergoing test flights in preparation for its first commercial launch. Boeing missed the initial May 2008 delivery target for the next-generation aircraft, and has repeatedly delayed its introduction because of problems in development.
The twin-engine jet is made mostly of carbon fiber and other composite materials from numerous suppliers instead of aluminum, making it lighter and 20 percent more fuel-efficient than other midsized airliners, according to Boeing.
The company employs 740 people in Utah. Another 120 could be hired for the new 35,000-square-foot production line by the end of 2012.
Boeing wanted to have a dual source for the fin assembly, and the plant in Utah was chosen because it had a 24-year history of quality work and on-time product delivery, said Craig Trewet, director of the company's Salt Lake City facility, which sits just east of the Salt Lake City International Airport. Fin assemblies also will be assembled in Washington state.
The SLC facility originally was opened by McDonnell Douglas Corp. in 1987 to manufacture floor beams and assemblies for the MD-80 family of aircraft. Later, fuselage sections were made at the plant that were shipped to Long Beach, Calif. for final assembly.
Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997. More recently, fabricated replacement parts have been fabricated at the plant for Boeing's out-of-production aircraft and other company commercial airplanes.
Trewet, a Utah native who was named director of the Salt Lake site in December 2009, said most of the initial 45 employees came from the aircraft maker's existing workforce. Future job openings will be posted on Boeing's corporate website.
The composite parts that make up the 33-foot-high and 15-foot-wide fin assembly will be produced at Boeing facilities in Washington.
Sophia DiCaro, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, said the opening of the SLC production line sends the world a good message that Utah is becoming a center for such manufacturing activities.
Recently, Alliant Techsystems Inc. said work was nearly complete on its $100 million aircraft-component manufacturing plant in Clearfield and that it expects to begin hiring staff in a couple of weeks to prepare for August's initial production launch.
Eventually, as many as 800 Utahns are expected to be engaged at the Alliant plant in manufacturing composite-fiber airframe components for the Airbus A350 commercial jet, and parts for General Electric and Rolls Royce engines. The facility sits next door to an existing ATK operation that uses robotic machines to weave composite fibers into wing skids and other critical parts for military aircraft.
Twitter: @OberbeckBiz
The Associated Press contributed to this story