787 Dreamliner vertical fin assembly line opened in Salt Lake City

Posted by John McHaleSALT LAKE CITY, 1 July 2011.Boeing (NYSE: BA) officials opened a new 787 Dreamliner vertical fin assembly line at the company's production facility in Salt Lake City. Boeing Fabrication runs the site, which will build the vertical fin assemblies for the 787 aircraft built at Boeing South Carolina. Production on the new assembly line is scheduled to start this month."With increasing demand for our products and the development of two new airplanes, this is an exciting time for Boeing," said Ross R. Bogue, vice president and general manager of Boeing Fabrication. "Boeing Salt Lake City has a key role in the future success of Boeing Commercial Airplanes."The Utah assembly line made use of Lean Manufacturing techniques in its design, which reduced required floor space and increased production capacity without having to add new brick and mortar facilities. The 35,000 square feet composite assembly line will help improve efficiency in final assembly and delivery processes at Boeing's 787 facility in South Carolina.The Boeing Salt Lake City site currently supports fabrication activities across all Boeing Commercial Airplane models. The first vertical fin is scheduled to be delivered to Boeing South Carolina by the end of this year.