Boeing South Carolina breaks ground on 787 site expansion

Rendering of new final assembly building

Boeing marked the groundbreaking of its Boeing South Carolina (BSC) site expansion in the USA earlier this month. Home of the 787 Dreamliner programme, BSC is set to increase production to a rate of 10 aeroplanes per month in 2026 to help meet strong market demand. In late 2024, Boeing announced plans to expand and upgrade its site near Charleston International Airport and construct a second campus. The company is investing more than $1 billion in this infrastructure programme which will lead to more than 1,000 new jobs over the next five years.

The expansion will include: a new final assembly building similar in size to the current final assembly building, which is roughly 1.2 million ft² include aeroplane production positions, production support and office space; a parts preparation area facility, a vertical fin paint facility, flight Line stalls and more at the Airport Campus; and additions to the Interiors Responsibility Center, where many of the 787s interior components are made.

The construction phase will employ more than 2,500 people with over 6.2 million construction hours from the joint venture of HITT Contracting and BE&K Building Group. So far, 90 customers from around the world have placed more than 2,250 orders for the 787 Dreamliner family, making it the best-selling widebody passenger aeroplane of all time.

After more than 1,200 deliveries, the 787 backlog stands at nearly 1,000 aeroplanes, including more than 300 orders added just this year. In all, the commercial aviation industry is expected to need more than 7,800 new widebody aeroplanes over the next two decades, according to Boeing’s Commercial Market Outlook.

Strong demand
Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said: “We continue to see strong demand for the 787 Dreamliner family and its market-leading efficiency and versatility. We are making this significant investment to ensure Boeing is ready to meet our customer’s needs in the years and decades ahead.”

For more than a decade, BSC has been the home of the full 787 Dreamliner production cycle. The site fabricates, assembles and delivers the three Dreamliner models — 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 — to customers around the world. The company established operations in South Carolina in 2009 and currently employs more than 8,200 people across its campuses in North Charleston and in Orangeburg.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “With visionary leadership, President Trump is restoring America’s industrial base and breathing life back into our great manufacturing states, including the great state of South Carolina. We are proud to work alongside American businesses to build the world's greatest products, create high-paying jobs, and safeguard the economic and national security of our nation.”