American plane maker 
Boeing is investing big at its North Charleston plant, as the continued demand for the popular Boeing 787 Dreamliner takes flight. The new project is expected to attract over $1 billion in investment and will create up to 1,000 direct jobs. This week marked the groundbreaking of the site expansion, which is home to the 787 Dreamliner program.
In 2024, Boeing announced its plans to expand the site near Charleston International Airport (CHS) and construct a second campus. This project is set to take five years to complete, and will enable the manufacturer to increase its production rate of the 787 to 10 airplanes per month. Already, according to an analysis by Simple Flying, there are close to 1,000 Dreamliners on order across the three variants (787-8, 787-9, and 787-10).
What’s Expected?
The new assembly building will be similar in size to the current final assembly line, which covers more than 1.2 million square feet (111,400 square meters). This will include various departments, which include the office spaces, production positions, and production support. A separate part preparation area facility, and vertical fin paint facility, a flight line stall, and more will also be relocated on the airport campus.
The Interior Responsibility Center, which fabricates and designs many of the 787’s interior components, will also be included in this expansion. Components that are designed in the IRC include overhead stow bins, closet partitions, class dividers, crew and flight attendant rest areas, doors and doorway linings, floor-mounted stow boxes, life raft boxes, secure flight deck doors, video control centers, purser work stations, dry galleys, ceilings and sidewalls, decorative laminates, and proximity lighting. Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, was there for the groundbreaking ceremony and shared this statement:
“We continue to see strong demand for the 787 Dreamliner family and its market-leading efficiency and versatility. We are making this significant investment today to ensure Boeing is ready to meet our customers’ needs in the years and decades ahead. This site expansion is a testament to the incredible work of our Boeing teammates and deepens our commitment to them, to South Carolina, and to American manufacturing.”
6.2 Million Construction Hours
The development and build is expected to support up to 2,500 direct and indirect jobs in the region, and will be undertaken through a joint venture with HITT Construction (a national commercial construction company based out of Virginia) and BE&K Building Group (a North Carolina construction services company).
Boeing South Carolina has been the home to the 787 production cycle for more than a decade. Here, the team fabricates, assembles, and delivers all three of the 787 models. First established in 2009, BSC (Boeing South Carolina) currently employs more than 8,200 staff on two campuses in North Charleston and Orangeburg, and remains one of the biggest employers in the region. From here, new aircraft are delivered to respective customers to destinations around the world.
The Boeing 787 is one of the best-selling widebody aircraft in history, and currently, 90 airline customers around the world have placed orders for the aircraft. More than 1,200 aircraft have been delivered and have become the backbone for many airlines’ long-haul operations, such as Virgin Atlantic, Air Tahiti Nui, and Air New Zealand.
Breathing Life Into Manufacturing
In Boeing’s media release for the development, it acknowledged President Trump and how his vision of breathing life back into American manufacturing is part of the continued investment in Charleston. For the plane maker, its vote of confidence in the state of South Carolina will further support the region’s business climate and continue to strengthen its position as a global leader in aerospace and manufacturing.
Currently, the sub-assembly site in South Carolina covers a 265-acre (107-hectare site, located on the southern portion of Charleston Airport (and Charleston Air Force Base). Initially, the site was set up to build components for the 787; however, in 2009, it became the primary site for the design and build of the 787.
Once complete, the new development will dramatically increase the output capacity of the 787 for CHS, which, as a result, will create more jobs and further cement Boeing in the South Carolina landscape for decades to come.
