Boeing has completed expansion work at its Tianjin composites joint venture, allowing it to increase its production capacity of commercial aviation composite parts.
The completion also comes as Boeing Tianjin Composites marks its 25th anniversary. The facility is Boeing’s first joint venture in China, and has produced more than 1.8 million components covering all of Boeing’s in-production commercial aircraft, such as the 737 Max, 777 and 787.
Boeing adds that over 10,000 Boeing commercial airplanes in operation globally fly with parts and assemblies built in China.
The airframer says the expansion completion ceremony was held on 12 April, attended by employees, partners as well as government officials. Media reports state the new facility spans a floor area of around 58,000 sq m (624,000 sq ft).
The expansion comes as Boeing faces a growing fallout over production quality issues at its commercial aircraft programmes. A mid-flight blow-out of a door plug on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 in January sparked increased scrunity at Boeing, culminating in a major management overhaul, which sees chief executive David Calhoun’s departure at year’s end and the immediate retirement of Boeing Commercial Airplanes boss Stan Deal.
The Tianjin facility expansion also comes as the North American airframer navigates trade tensions between the USA and China. For its part, Boeing states that its activities in China have contributed more than $1.5 billion annually in direct support of the Chinese economy.
