Boeing brings extra workers to S.C. campus

By Katy Stech - The (Charleston) Post and Courier

CHARLESTON -- Boeing has brought in hundreds of extra workers to help piece together the 787 fuselage sections at its North Charleston campus.

The local head count has surged – increasing to 3,000 workers from about 2,200 last summer – as part of a push to bring the company’s two neighboring fuselage plants up to a quicker production rate, said Boeing Charleston spokeswoman Candy Eslinger.

The company is accepting applications online, but it’s unclear how many more workers it is looking to add. Eslinger said the facilities are ramping up to make 10 deliveries per month.

The 787 fuselage sections produced in North Charleston are sent to Seattle for final assembly.

The Dreamliner model’s first test flight on Dec. 15 went smoothly. The first finished plane is scheduled to be turned over to a Japanese airline by the end of the year.

But Eslinger wouldn’t say whether the additional staffers are short-term, contract workers or permanent hires. She also declined to say whether the workers were recruited locally or brought in from Boeing’s manufacturing headquarters in Washington state.

Those details, she said, are proprietary.

Earlier this month, Boeing began soliciting applicants for assembler jobs in North Charleston through its Web site. It is seeking an unspecified number of candidates with at least four years of aerospace experience “to learn and perform a variety of structural assembly operations, fastener installation, and inspection duties,” according to the online job description.

Boeing stressed that the position is not for the new 787 assembly plant under construction and expected to open in 2011. The job posting closes Feb. 17.