Boeing in late May officially opened a new $1 billion wing fabrication plant for the 777X at its Everett, Washington campus. Called the 777X Composite Wing Center (CWC), the facility will manufacture the world’s largest carbon-fiber wings.
Completion of the new CWC building required approximately 4.2 million hours of construction time. At its peak, 1,700 contract employees worked on the project. The CWC covers more than 27 acres under one roof and will contain three of the world’s largest autoclaves, each big enough to fit two 737 fuselages inside.
Workers at the center will build wing skins and spars using automated carbon tape-laying machines. Once the skins and spars cure in the autoclaves, they’ll undergo assembly at an adjacent plant where the 777X gets put together.