Boeing unveils new assembly line for airliner fins

SALT LAKE CITY — Boeing unveiled its new vertical fin assembly line here Tuesday, and state leaders are hailing it as a sign of an improving manufacturing sector in Utah.

The line goes into production in July, with the first fin expected to be delivered to Boeing's South Carolina site, where the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner is being produced, later this year. Salt Lake City's facility will manufacture all fins used in 787s.

"This is a highly desired piece of artwork, frankly, in our business," said Craig Trewet, director of Boeing Salt Lake City.

The fins, which maintain side-to-side horizontal movement of an airplane in flight, are massive — 33 feet high and 15 feet wide — and it was no small undertaking to prep the facility. Time-lapse video shown at the official unveiling showed hoards of workers trading out machinery.

"We didn't have a lot of slack in the schedule to meet the program requirements, and that's another great reason to turn to this kind of high-performance team," said Ross Bogue, vice president and general manager of Boeing Fabrication. "They moved all of the machine tools and activity in this area over a weekend. It's really fast and done really well."

The company expects the 35,000 square feet of assembly line will improve efficiency in the final assembly and delivery of the fins.

State officials say Boeing, which employs 740 Utahns, is adding 45 jobs immediately with the line and potentially another 120 by the end of 2012.

"It means economic growth, expansion, jobs," Gov. Gary Herbert said.

Herbert said the manufacturing sector in Utah is making gains.

In the past month, Herbert said he met with a group of 21 manufacturing companies in the state. All the firms told him they planned to add jobs in the coming year.

"Today, this announcement here at Boeing is just another indicator that Utah is on the right road going in the right direction," Herbert said.

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