Boeing Everett Factory

The Boeing Everett Factory is an airplane assembly facility built by Boeing in Everett, Washington, United States. It sits at the northeast corner of Paine Field and includes the largest building in the world by volume at 13,385,378 m3 (472,370,319 cu ft) and covers 98.7 acres (39.9 ha). The entire complex spans both sides of State Route 526 (named the Boeing Freeway). The factory was built in 1967 for the Boeing 747 and has since been expanded several times to accommodate new airliners, including the 767, 777, and 787 programs.

Boeing Everett Factory
The Boeing Everett Factory in 2008
Built1967[1]
LocationEverett, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates47°55′32″N 122°16′19″W
ProductsAirplane assembly
Employees30,000[2]
ArchitectBoeing
StyleIndustrial
Area399,480 square metres (4,300,000 sq ft)
Volume13,385,378 cubic metres (472,700,200 cu ft), largest building in the world by volume
Owner(s)Boeing

History and operations

Boeing has had a presence in Everett since 1943. In 1966, plans for a factory in the area to be the site of the construction of the 747 were first announced, after Boeing was awarded a contract worth US$525 million (equivalent to $4137 million in 2019) from Pan American World Airways to build 25 of the aircraft. The company purchased 780 acres (320 ha) north of the then little-used Paine Field, which was operated by the U.S. Army during World War II. The factory was officially opened on May 1, 1967, four months after the first workers had arrived to start construction of the 747.[3]

Boeing began offering factory tours with the first rollout of the 747 in 1968.[4][2] As of 2020 over 150,000 people come each year to visit the factory, which employs over 30,000 people and has its own fire department, security team, daycare center, coffee shop, and fitness center.[2] The factory also houses a Boeing Employees' Credit Union branch and several cafés. Across the airport to the west is The Boeing Store, a theater, and the Future of Flight Aviation Center, which runs the factory tour. The Boeing Everett campus is big enough to contain Disneyland with 12 acres (4.9 ha) left over for parking.

Aircraft in production

Boeing 747
Main article: Boeing 747
Boeing's Everett facility. The main production building is seen in the background to the left.

The Boeing 747 is a large-size, long-range wide-body four-engine jet airliner. The 747-8I, the current passenger variant in production, is capable of carrying 467 passengers in a typical three-class configuration, has a range of 8,000 nmi (9,200 mi; 15,000 km) and a cruising speed Mach 0.855 (570 mph, 918 km/h, 495 kn). The Boeing 747 was one of the first wide-body aircraft to be produced and was the first jet to use a wide-body configuration for carrying passengers. Because of the vast size of the 747, the Boeing Everett Factory was designed and built to accommodate the assembly of these large planes as there was not enough room at the Boeing facilities in Seattle. Production of this aircraft began in 1967 and continues to this day.

The only 747 variant currently in production is the Boeing 747-8.

Boeing 767
Main article: Boeing 767

The Boeing 767 is a mid- to large-size, long-range wide-body twin-engine jet airliner. The 767-300ER, the last passenger variant in production, is capable of carrying 218 passengers in a typical three-class configuration, has a range of 5,990 nmi (6,890 mi; 11,090 km) and a cruising speed Mach 0.80 (530 mph, 851 km/h, 470 kn). Production of this plane began in 1979.

These are the 767 variants currently in production:

Boeing 777
Main articles: Boeing 777 and Boeing 777X
A Boeing 777 Freighter before a test flight

The Boeing 777 is a large-size, long-range wide-body twin-engine jet airliner. The 777-300ER, the current passenger variant in production, is capable of carrying 386 passengers in a typical three-class configuration, has a range of 7,830 nmi (9,010 mi; 14,500 km) and a cruising speed Mach 0.84 (554 mph, 892 km/h, 482 kn). Production of this plane began in 1993.

These are the 777 variants currently in production:

Boeing 787
Main article: Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Jetstar's first 787 being built.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a mid-size, long-range wide-body twin-engine jet airliner. The current passenger variants in production, are capable of carrying 242–290 passengers in a typical two-class configuration, have a range of 7,355–7,635 nmi (8,464–8,786 mi; 13,621–14,140 km) and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (562 mph, 902 km/h, 487 kn). Production of this plane began in 2006.

In February 2011, Boeing announced that some 787 work was being moved to a plant in North Charleston, South Carolina in order to relieve overcrowding of 787s at Everett caused by large volumes of 787 orders.[6] In July 2014, Boeing announced that the 787-10 variant, the longest variant of the 787, would be produced exclusively in South Carolina as the fuselage pieces for that variant are too large for the Dreamlifter to fit for transport to Everett.[7][8] In early 2020, Boeing announced that it would consider consolidating all of its 787 assembly in a single location. It chose to move all production to South Carolina on October 1, 2020, causing backlash from the Washington state government.[9][10]

These are the 787 variants currently in production in Everett:

Airport

Aircraft are delivered as a whole from the Paine Field Snohomish County Airport, adjacent to and south of the plant.

See also

References
  1. Boeing: Boeing in Everett, Wash
  2. "Boeing in Everett, Wash". Boeing. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  3. Boeing’s history in Everett | HeraldNet.com
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Boeing Begins Assembling 3rd KC-46A Tanker Aircraft". Boeing. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  6. "Boeing looks to ease overcrowding at Paine Field". Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  7. "Boeing: Boeing in South Carolina". www.boeing.com. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  8. Yeo, Ghim-Lay (July 30, 2014). "Boeing to assemble 787-10 in South Carolina". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  9. Cameron, Andrew Tangel and Doug (September 30, 2020). "Boeing to Move All 787 Dreamliner Production to South Carolina". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  10. Gates, Dominic (October 1, 2020). "Boeing makes it official: Washington state will lose 787 production next year". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
Records
Preceded by
NASA Vehicle Assembly Building		 Largest building by volume
1967–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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