Airplane manufacturer expands facility in Winnipeg

A U.S.-based airplane manufacturer is expandingits facility in Winnipeg.

Boeing is scaling up its Winnipeg manufacturing facility with a $20-million, 12,000-square-foot expansion to better meet the demand for composite airplane parts, the company announced Wednesday.

"At any given time,there are thousands of airplanes in the sky flying passengers across Canada and around the world with parts made right here in Winnipeg,"Teri Thompson, general manager of Boeing Canada Winnipeg, said at a news conference.

Part of the expansion at the Murray Park Road facility is a 7,250-square-foot freezer thatstores composite manufacturing materials used in making airplane parts, whichincreasean airplane's fuel efficiency and decreaseits weight.

The freezer willlower the facility's annual energy use by more than 20 per cent, a newsrelease from Boeing said. It will also requirea carbon-dioxide-based refrigeration system that creates less emissions.

The expansion will double the site's freezer capacity, which Boeing says willreduce manufacturing downtime.

The new addition will be the fifth expansion since the Winnipeg plant opened in 1971. The entire facility is more than 700,000 square feet.

About 1,500 employees work at Boeing's Winnipeg facility.

Pierre Ruel, Boeing Canada's director of strategy and policy, called the Winnipeg plant "the jewel in the crown" of the company's national operations.

One of the facility's specialities is building all the landing gear doors for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Boeing adds runway by expanding Winnipeg facility

11 months ago

Duration 1:58

Boeing's manufacturing facility in west Winnipeg is getting a 12,000 sq. ft. expansion that will give the company more space to store composite airplane parts.