Loss of factory that made fasteners for jets threatens Boeing’s plan to get production back on track; ‘We’ll get through it,’ CEO says
The fire at SPS Technologies, in Abington Township, Pa., broke out Feb. 17 and took several days to extinguish.
A fire tore through an airplane-parts factory last month in suburban Philadelphia, decimating the century-old plant. Boeing BA -0.17%decrease; red down pointing triangle has been racing ever since to size up whether it will delay the jet maker’s turnaround plans.
Equal in size to about 10 football fields, the factory, operated by a Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 0.02%increase; green up pointing triangle company, was the sole supplier of some critical fasteners used in Boeing planes. Fallout from the blaze now threatens the aerospace company’s effort to get its manufacturing operations back on track.
Boeing is searching to find alternative suppliers, but replacing the parts isn’t an easy task. Many might look like typical bolts, but the fasteners must be manufactured to hold up to the demands of air travel, and some of the designs are complex. They are used in jet engines, landing gear and other parts of the plane.
The plant’s loss won’t have an immediate effect on production, the company said, but suppliers and analysts expect fallout as Boeing works through its parts supply.
Excerpt from WSJ
Read the full article