Boeing will open a second assembly line for its long-delayed 787 jetliner in South Carolina, expanding beyond its longtime manufacturing base in Washington state to take advantage of economic incentives and a nonunion work force. The Chicago-based airplane maker said Wednesday it chose the site in North Charleston over Everett, Wash., because it best suited plans to boost production of the highly anticipated jet, designed to carry up to 250 passengers.
South Carolina offered Boeing $170 million in incentives and relief from sales taxes on things like fuel used in test flights.
Boeing also has long complained about the business climate in Washington and frequent strikes by production workers. At Boeing’s plant in North Charleston, workers last month voted against continued representation by the International Association of Machinists.
55 airlines have ordered 840 of the planes since the program was launched in 2003 — far more than any other Boeing plane at the same stage of development.