Buzz
Inside the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington, just outside Seattle. Photo by Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)Main Highlights
- Boeing's Everett Facility, the largest building globally in terms of volume, spans 98.3 acres (39.8 hectares) and has a staggering interior volume of 472 million cubic feet (13.3 million cubic meters).
- This facility operates like a mini city, supporting 36,000 employees and offering amenities such as a fire department, banks, daycare services, a medical clinic, and a water treatment plant.
- It also boasts a sophisticated network of tunnels for utility and personnel movement, 26 overhead cranes running along 39 miles (62.7 kilometers) of tracks for assembling aircraft, and is equipped to expand production for the Boeing 767, 777, and 777X's composite wing manufacturing.
In the mid-1960s, Boeing, a leader in the aerospace industry, was preparing to create the Boeing 747, the first jumbo jet. This new aircraft would be 2.5 times larger than the biggest planes of the time and was set to transform air travel by enabling the transport of more passengers and cargo at lower costs than ever before.
Before the 747 could take flight, Boeing, under the leadership of then-President and Chairman, William M. Allen, had to construct a massive facility capable of handling the assembly of this colossal plane.
While Boeing initially considered building the new plant in California, the 747’s chief engineer, Joe Sutter, reportedly argued against it, citing concerns about the delays caused by the distance from the company’s Seattle headquarters. Ultimately, Boeing chose a site in Everett, Washington, a former military airfield located 22 miles (35 kilometers) north of Seattle. This area, surrounded by dense woods, was occasionally visited by bears that had to be gently relocated.
In a remarkable display of speed and efficiency, construction workers completed the world's largest factory in just over a year. To speed up the delivery of building materials and remove debris, a railroad spur had to be constructed. The entire project cost over $1 billion, more than the total value of Boeing at the time, as reported in a 2013 Airways magazine article.
"It was a remarkable achievement of human ingenuity, industry, and perseverance," says business journalist Russ Banham, author of the 2015 book "Higher: 100 Years of Boeing," in an interview.
More than fifty years after it was first completed in 1967, Boeing's Everett factory continues to manufacture aircraft and captivate visitors, becoming a major attraction in Washington state.
Disneyland Could Fit Inside
Just how large is the facility? It spans 98.3 acres (39.8 hectares) and has an interior volume of 472 million cubic feet (13.3 million cubic meters). For comparison, the entire Disneyland theme park could easily fit within its space. It's so expansive that when it was first constructed, the warm air and moisture inside caused clouds to form just below the ceiling until systems were put in place to improve air circulation.
The factory features six doors on its southern side. Of the four on the west, each stands 82 feet high (24.9 meters) and stretches 300 feet wide (91.44 meters). The two on the east are also 82 feet high (2.49 meters) and 350 feet wide (106.7 meters).
"With just the press of a button, the doors open fully in about five minutes," said David Reese, Boeing's Manager of Visitor Relations, in an email.
Reese suggested referring to this blog post by J. VanDomelen, an expert in information systems and an aerospace enthusiast, who had the opportunity to tour the factory a few years ago for further insights.
Reese mentioned that the ceiling of the factory rises 90 feet (27.4 meters) above the floor—tall enough to accommodate an eight-story office building. There are roughly 1 million overhead lights in the space.
The factory features 26 overhead cranes that travel along 39 miles (62.7 kilometers) of ceiling-mounted tracks, helping to lift and transport large aircraft components as they are assembled. The assembly line moves at a pace of about an inch-and-a-half (3.8 centimeters) per minute, as detailed in an August 2018 CNN article.
Beneath the factory floor, there's an intricate 2.33-mile (3.7 kilometers) network of tunnels, housing essential utilities like water, sewer, and electrical lines. These tunnels also allow employees to navigate the facility without disrupting the aircraft production process. To cover distances faster, they use 1,300 bicycles and tricycles.
The Everett plant is essentially a small city, with 36,000 employees working on-site daily, according to a fact sheet from Boeing. It has its own fire department, banks, daycare centers, a full-service medical clinic, and a water treatment facility.
The Everett factory, however, lacks air conditioning. When the temperature inside rises too high, employees open the factory doors and use fans to bring cooler air inside. If it becomes too cold, they activate additional overhead lights to warm the air. (Thanks to Seattle's mild climate, this approach works effectively.)
The original structure was expanded in 1978 to support the production of the Boeing 767, and again in 1992 to accommodate the Boeing 777 program. More recently, new buildings were added to the site to manage the robotic assembly of the 777's fuselage and the composite wing fabrication of the 777X, as explained by Reese.
The murals on the factory's six enormous doors are the largest digital graphics in the world, covering over 100,000 square feet (9,290 square meters).
