December 19 - Boeing and the Port of Everett recently celebrated the arrival of the first shipment of parts for Boeing's 1,000th 777 from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hiroshima, Japan.
The shipment, including body panels, was received at the Port of Everett's Mount Baker Terminal, which handles all the oversized aircraft parts for the 777 programme.
"As the nation's largest exporter in the nation's most trade-dependent state, Boeing's success hinges on smoothly running operations to deliver airplanes reliably to customers around the world," said Larry Loftis, vice president and general manager 777 programme.
"The port system is an important part of our operations network. We are grateful for the Port of Everett's support to keep parts and materials efficiently flowing to our factories, which directly links to keeping Boeing and Washington State competitive and restoring the region's economy," he said.
The parts arrive at the Port's deep-water shipping terminals, and are staged and distributed based on the manufacturing needs of the programme. The parts are shipped on a barge to the Mount Baker Terminal, which opened in 2008. Then they are transferred to a railroad car for shipment to Boeing. The rail line operates up the steepest operating grade - 5.7 percent - in North America.
"The Port of Everett has partnered with Boeing on the supply chain logistics for the 777 since day one," said John Mohr, Port of Everett executive director. "Over the years, Boeing and the Port of Everett have grown and adapted together. We are proud to be a part of this historic milestone, and look forward to supporting Boeing's expanding business now and into the future," he said.
Mitsubishi is one of five Japanese structures suppliers that provide parts to the 777 program. The others are:Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Gifu, Japan; Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd., Utsunomiya, Japan; NIPPI Corp.,Yokohama, Japan; and ShinMaywa, Kobe, Japan.
