Jetting parts around the world

Third of four parts

EVERETT, Wash. — Boeing Corp. looked to Japan’s Toray Industries when it needed to tap the world’s most innovative technology to manufacture raw material for the carbon-composite skin of its new 787 Dreamliner.

France’s Messier-Dowty will make the new aircraft’s landing gear structures. Britain’s Rolls-Royce and Connecticut’s General Electric will build engines for the flagship of American commercial aviation.

“This is still very much an American product,” said Walter Gillette, vice president of airplane development for the Boeing 787 program. “And it is very much a global product. It is the most global thing we have done.”

Mr. Gillette leads the team that created the 787, a technologically advanced, fuel-saving aircraft that is scheduled to start mass production this year and join commercial fleets in 2008.

The Dreamliner’s path from concept to the air follows a process that began in the late 1990s and was formalized by Boeing executives in 2000 to tap into a global network of suppliers, innovators and technology to build the next generation of passenger jets.

Companies building sophisticated products, including computers, heavy machinery and aircraft, often rely on such a broad supply chain to compete worldwide. These days, instead of “Made in the U.S.A.,” many products could say “Idea made in the U.S.A., product made by the world.” For them, the key to success is in imagining, designing and implementing an idea as much as the actual manufacturing.

In this four-part series, The Washington Times looks at the past, present and future of products made in the U.S.A. Today’s article examines the globalization of manufacturing and the impact that has had on American companies.

Taking off

Boeing remains a major American manufacturer. Its aircraft exports are one of the bright spots when calculating the U.S. trade balance in manufactured goods.

In 2004, a year of marked recovery for the industry, the U.S. sold $22.9 billion in civilian aircraft abroad and imported $11.4 billion, Commerce Department figures show. Boeing’s commercial airplane division in 2004 delivered 285 aircraft, generating $21 billion in revenue.

Last year’s exports reached $29 billion, while commercial aircraft sales generated almost $22.7 billion in revenue for the Chicago company.

Mr. Gillette’s office, which overlooks snowcapped mountains, is nearthe massive hangars where 747s, 767s and 777s are assembled and where the 787 will be put together. Boeing moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago several years ago,but maintains its biggest factories in the Seattle area.

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