TIANJIN -- US aircraft maker Boeing expects to double its purchasing of raw materials and services from Chinese suppliers by 2015, said the general manager of Boeing's parts factory located in China's northern industrial city of Tianjin.
Boeing Tianjin Composites Co Ltd currently buys $200 million worth of raw materials and services from Chinese suppliers annually.
Gary A. Baker, general manager of the parts factory, said Wednesday that the factory's production capacity will double by 2013 from its present 5,000 parts per month, following the factory's expansion that was completed on April 18.
Baker said the new facility will increase production capacity by 60 percent and will hire about 300 additional employees.
Boeing Tianjin Composites produces components for all of Boeing's in-production programs, including 737, 747-8, 767, 777, 787 and Brazil-based Embraer CF34-10.
Boeing, Hexcel, Goodrich, FACC AG, Korean Aerospace Industries, Triumph Group, Boeing Aerostructures Australia, Shanghai Aviation Industry Corporation and Xi'an Aviation Industry Corporation are all customers of Boeing's Tianjin-based company.
In addition to producing composite materials, Boeing also works closely with its Chinese partners to develop a safe, reliable and efficient air transportation system, to advance the commercialization of aviation biofuels and to assess efficient air-traffic management, Baker said.
Boeing has worked with China's aviation industry for nearly four decades and is the largest consumer of airplane parts made in China.
