east valley
Volume 5 Issue 10 Mesa, AZ
September 18, 2022
Boeing’s Phantom Works opening high-tech facility here BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
A
IN THE BIZ
erospace and defense giant Boeing is expanding its footprint in Mesa with a new 155,000-square-foot, $150 million factory at McDowell and Green�ield Roads to build parts for future combat aircraft. Company executives and city of�icials cut the ribbon Sept. 12 on the Advanced Composite Fabrication Center, which will be a classi�ied facility operated by Phantom Works, the division of Boeing that develops prototype aircraft based on the latest science. Its “classi�ied” status means people entering the facility will require a security clearance. Boeing spokeswoman Michelle Whaley said the factory is the �irst in a series of new high-tech factories planned throughout the country and “will place Mesa at the heart of Boeing’s future production strategy.” The Phantom Works facility builds on Boeing’s 40-year history in the city. The company is Mesa’s third-largest employer and currently assembles the Apache and Little Bird attack helicopters in the city. Mesa’s attack-helicopter industry is going strong, as U.S. ally Poland requested in early September the purchase of 96 Apaches to replace its current helicopter �leet. Whaley said the new order would add to “an already healthy backlog” of production. Unlike Mesa’s Apache fabrication center, the new Phantom Works facility to Public Notices ............... page 2 © Copyright, 2022 East Valley Tribune
the west won’t be assembling �inished aircraft; instead it will produce components like aircraft skins and subassemblies that will go elsewhere for �inal assembly. So while no secret prototype aircraft will be buzzing around the skies of Mesa, the Phantom Works facility will play a role in creating the next generation of warplanes. Boeing Defense, Space & Security President Ted Colbert said the latest ideas from Boeing’s brains will “become real” at the Mesa facility, taking their �irst steps from digital designs to physical machines. Colbert said the factory is “about taking advantage of the next generation of technology,” and it will leverage tools like virtual reality, arti�icial intelligence and additive manufacturing aka 3D printing to produce specialty parts made from advanced materials. The high-tech factory will add about 150 jobs to Boeing’s more than 4,600-person workforce in Mesa. Current Boeing quality engineer Jamey Dunn, who has worked at Boeing’s Mesa site for 27 years, will work at the new facility, and he’s excited about it. “It’s incredible to be on the cusp of new technology and see what’s coming next,” Dunn said. The company couldn’t give details on what exactly the facility will make because much of it is classi�ied for national security reasons. Also, the factory is designed to adapt to future needs the company has based on technology, contracts and orders. Boeing’s sneak peek for local of�icials and media was a rare opportunity to see (USPS 004-616) is published weekly
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the inside of the Phantom Works workshop before it permanently closes to the public when it goes into operation this fall. In remarks before the ribbon-cutting, Giles thanked Boeing not just for its economic impact on the town but also the “human capital” the company brings, elevating the city with “community-oriented people.” Huge U.S. �lags hung on the walls of the cavernous interior lined with cables and copper pipes and peppered with computers, cranes and other equipment. On the tour of the soon-to-be classi�ied space, Boeing employees showed off a two-story, two-armed machine that can make precision cuts with either a 60,000 psi water jet or a laser. The Tribune asked Mayor John Giles what he thought of the facility after emerging from a tour with other city of�icials. “I could tell you but I might have to kill you,” Giles joked before adding, “Clearly, a lot of amazing things are going to happen here.” A spokeswoman for Boeing said at the event that the company’s Apache factory will be an important “feeder pool” for workers at the Phantom Works facility. A good way to get a foot in the door in the Apache operation, the company said, is to participate in one of the two-week “boot camps” Maricopa Community Colleges offers in partnership with Boeing. The idea of the camps is to give people without prior experience the basic skills needed for an entry level job with Boeing as a wire harness or composite technician. Subscriptions are $26 for 2 years, $14 for one year. Periodicals postage paid at Phoenix, AZ 85026.
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