Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has completed facility expansion of the aircraft shop at the Yamatomachi plant of its Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, in preparation for the production increase of composite wing boxes for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. MHI expanded the facility in response to Boeing's plan to increase the 787’s production rate from the current 10 airplanes per month to 14 by the end of the decade.
MHI held a ceremony at facility on Wednesday to mark completion of the expansion project. Officials from the Yamaguchi prefectural and Shimonoseki municipal governments and several guests from the local community attended, along with executive officers of Mitsubishi’s Commercial Airplanes division and Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works.
The expansion at the Shimonoseki facility will allow a boost in production capacity of wing stringers, which MHI has produced at the shop since 2006. New production machinery includes an autoclave for curing and shape-forming the layered composite prepregs under high temperature and high pressure, and cutting machines for machining of components.
MHI transports the stringers manufactured at the Yamatomachi plant to the Oye plant at MHI’s Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works in Aichi Prefecture, where workers integrate them into the wing boxes for shipment to Boeing. The company has also begun preparations to increase production capacity at the Oye plant.
MHI has produced composite wing boxes for the 787 Dreamliner since program launch, and delivery of the first unit took place in May 2007.