By Molly Parker
mparker@scbiznews.com
Published Aug. 26, 2009

Boeing has notified South Carolina officials that it will file for the permits necessary to build a 787 assembly plant in North Charleston.

Boeing Charleston spokeswoman Candy Eslinger called it a “procedural step.” It does not mean the company has decided to locate its second Dreamliner production facility in South Carolina, she said. 

Filing for the permits now is necessary because of the amount of time it could take to secure them in the event that Boeing chooses North Charleston, she said. Eslinger said Boeing has not filed for building permits in any other locations.

Eslinger told the Business Journal late Tuesday night that Boeing has notified both S.C. Commerce Secretary Joe Taylor and North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey of its plans.

She cautioned against “jumping up and down in the end zone.” Still, the move indicates Boeing’s seriousness about considering North Charleston for its massive Dreamliner assembly plant. The Chicago-based company says it needs a second line to meet backorder demands. The 787 production schedule is several years behind, and the Dreamliner has yet to take flight. A flight test was recently postponed after a failed stress test.

Winning the Dreamliner assembly plant would add hundreds of new jobs to the state. It also could provide an economic spinoff on a scale that South Carolina hasn’t seen since luring BMW to the Upstate in 1993.

Boeing executive Scott Fancher said earlier this month that the company expects to pick a site by year’s end. Fancher, Boeing’s vice president and general manager for the 787 program, was in North Charleston on Aug. 3 for an employee celebration.

The month prior, Boeing completed the purchase of an aft fuselage assembly plant from Vought Aircraft Industries, moving a key supplier under the company’s umbrella. The former Vought facility is located near Charleston International Airport. Its neighbor is Dreamliner supplier Global Aeronautica, of which Boeing owns 50%.

The land where the two plants sit is owned by the Charleston County Aviation Authority.

Fancher said that Boeing is considering North Charleston, and Everett, Wash., where the original 787 assembly line is located, as potential sites for the second plant. Fancher declined to name any other cities that may be on the list.

Reach Molly Parker at 843-849-3144.

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