North Charleston Site
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Overview:
Vought’s newest manufacturing facility is located on a 240-acre site adjacent to the Charleston International Airport, 10 miles from downtown Charleston. Vought employees at the site fabricate and assemble aft fuselage sections 47 and 48 for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Mailing Address and Phone Number:
3455 Airframe Drive
North Charleston, SC 29418
843-789-8000
Vital Statistics:
• Vought’s current workforce at the North Charleston facility is approximately 600. This includes 360 active employees and 240 contract workers in positions related to manufacture, mechanics, or quality inspection. Employment is expected to peak in 2011 with approximately 750 people.
• Total current workforce on the 787 is approximately 900, including 290 employees and contract workers at Vought’s Dallas facility.
• Building sizes: 342,000 square feet of manufacturing for the Vought building and 14,245 square feet for the training facility
• 70,000 feet of Vought’s facility is a composites manufacturing “clean room” with interior clear heights of 40 feet
• 32,000 feet dedicated to office space
Major Equipment:
• Advanced AGV’s (Automated Guided Vehicles), and Factory Integration – Supplied by AIT
• Autoclave, measuring 30 feet in diameter and 76 feet in length – the world’s largest by volume.
• Automatic fiber placement machines (three in total by 2008) – Supplied by Cincinnati Composites, they robotically apply layers of graphite epoxy material to contoured tool surfaces reducing material cost as well as waste.
• 5 Axis Trim and drill machine – Supplied by PAR Systems.
• Non-destructive inspection machine – Supplied by MTorres, this numerically controlled (computer programmed) ultra-sonic laminate inspection system projects sound waves through a water medium to inspect within the layers of cured graphite.
• Automatic riveters (three in total) – Supplied by Brotje
Site History:
In December 2004, Vought announced the selection of North Charleston as the location for its 787 Dreamliner manufacturing facility. The site in South Carolina was chosen based on several factors, including access to a deep-water port, airport and rail system infrastructure, and readily available land and workforce.
A groundbreaking ceremony occurred on Feb. 7, 2005, and construction at the site officially began on March 16. Vought received its certificate of occupancy on March 29, 2006 – a year and 13 days later. Vought held its grand opening celebration on June 8, 2006 and delivered its first production ship set on May 10, 2007.
05/08
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