Boeing launches 737 Max assembly at new Everett North Line to boost production
The company intends for the new line to help it achieve a production rate of 52 737s monthly. Boeing has started assembling the first 737 Max on its new line in Everett, marking the start of production at a site the company says will enable it to further accelerate 737 output. The airframer disclosed the milestone in an internal company message on 6 July, saying it began producing the jet on that day and that it will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony there on 10 July. Boeing has for decades only produced 737s at its Renton facility south of Seattle but several years ago began planning to assemble them also on the new “North Line” at its Everett site north of Seattle. Boeing has said the additional capacity will enable it to ramp production without sacrificing quality. “Boeing teammates began assembling a 737 Max airplane on the new North Line on Monday, marking the start of 737 production at the Everett site. The team worked on the fuselage in the systems installation tool, replicating the build process used on the three 737 production lines about an hour south in the Renton factory,” a message posted to Boeing’s news site reads. The company freed up space in Everett in recent years after ending 747 production entirely and moving all 787 production to its site in North Charleston, South Carolina. The North Line is in the space where Boeing formerly produced 787s. Throughout the last decade, Boeing had assembled 53 737s monthly in Renton. But output slowed following the 737 Max grounding and subsequent Covid-19 pandemic. The company has struggled recently to ramp up production amid persistent quality problems that prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to cap output. Supply chain shortages were also a factor. The supplier issues have since eased, and the FAA has lifted its caps. As a result, Boeing’s production cadence has accelerated, with the company now moving from a rate of 42 to 47 737s monthly. Boeing aims to boost production to 52 jets monthly with assistance from the North Line. Additional rate hikes are also planned. “The build process in Everett will largely be the same as in Renton, apart from the production of the wings. Wings will continue to be built by teammates in Renton and then the 737 Wing Transport Tool will ferry them to Everett for final assembly,” Boeing’s internal message says. The exact composition of the new wing transport system has not immediately been made clear. While the North Line has been designed to accommodate production of all four 737 Max variants, Boeing has said it will initially produce only Max 8s, 9s and 10s – but not Max 7s – in Everett. The Max 7 and Max 10 are not yet certificated but Boeing says it expects to achieve those approvals this year. Workers at the North Line include new employees and those transferred from Renton and another Boeing site in Moses Lake, Washington. Boeing plans first to operate the North Line at "low rate initial production" — a reduced pace that will enable it to closely monitor the production system and demonstrate to the FAA that processes there conform to those in Renton — a requisite for Boeing to receive FAA approval to operate the North Line under its existing 737 production certificate. Boeing previously aimed for the North Line to be running in the second half of 2024 but delayed the plan after the FAA capped 737 output .