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October 22, 2014

Boeing breaks ground on $1B plant for making 777X wings

Photo courtesy of Boeing [enlarge]
The wing factory site is just north of the final assembly plant.

EVERETT (AP) — Boeing included a time capsule at the groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the new factory at its Everett plant where wings for the new 777X will be built.

All the dignitaries were asked to bring something for the time capsule, which will be opened in 30 years.

Work is already underway at the 1.3 million-square-foot wing factory. It's close to the plant where the 777X will be assembled because the wings are the largest Boeing has ever built — 114 feet long and 23 feet wide.

BRPH is the architect and Hoffman Construction is the general contractor.

The wing factory site is just north of the final assembly plant. The new building will house a clean room, an overhead crane system and three huge autoclaves, which bake composite materials for the wings. The 120-foot-long autoclaves are expected to be among the largest in the world.

The 777X is expected to be more fuel efficient than the standard widebody 777 and carry as many as 400 passengers.

Items for the time capsule include a photo of the Lombardi trophy sent by the Seahawks and a Felix Hernandez bobble head from the Mariners.

The wing factory will replace two buildings that were constructed in the 1960s and used as general office space. Demolition of those began in August.

Boeing says it will spend more than $1 billion to build and outfit the new building.

Construction will require 31,000 tons of steel, 538,000 cubic yards of fill material, 170,000 tons of concrete, 486 miles of electrical cable, 80,000 linear feet of process piping, and 1.6 million pounds of ductwork.

Installation of the first autoclave will begin in mid-2015. The factory is scheduled to finish in May 2016.

The first plane is expected to be delivered in 2020.




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