Company preparing its large site at Port for major upcoming defense, commercial projects.
05-03-2018
SAN ANTONIO — Boeing’s Port San Antonio site, one of the world’s largest aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities, is expanding its operations to meet the increasing demand from a global clientele of military and commercial airplane operators. Upcoming work will include additional support for passenger aircraft, as well as the U.S. Navy’s fleet of F/A-18 fighters.
“Thanks to the strong reputation our talented employees have built over many years, there is a world of opportunities for our Alamo City location," said Jay Galloway, Boeing’s San Antonio site leader. "In the months ahead, we expect to double the amount of work taking place here—adding to our projects on behalf of the Department of Defense and significantly growing our portfolio in support of commercial aircraft. We appreciate our longstanding partnership with Jim Perschbach and the Port San Antonio team, who provide outstanding support for our operation.”
Among the projects undertaken at the company’s Port San Antonio site are upgrades and modifications to new 747 and 787 passenger and cargo aircraft.
According to Galloway, near-term production at Boeing’s facility at the Port will consist of defense-heavy projects, with commercial work becoming an increasingly larger presence.
“Boeing’s big announcements reflect strong confidence in our community’s ability to deliver a place and a talented workforce for leading industries to serve a global clientele while continuing to innovate,” said Port Interim President & CEO Jim Perschbach. “Boeing’s major new commercial and military projects in San Antonio are the result of a strong and enduring strategic collaboration—between our longtime customer, the Port and community partners who are ensuring that top names in technology thrive here.
Boeing’s facilities at the Port include one of the world’s largest hangars—spanning almost 1 million square feet and able so serve multiple wide-body aircraft simultaneously.
Boeing’s 168-acre site at Port San Antonio was established in 1998 as a maintenance and modification center for large aircraft, and has since carved a reputation as a high-performance, globally-recognized facility.
In the past year, the company designated its local site as a Global Services location to conduct maintenance and repair for defense contracts and commercial airline businesses.
Beginning in 2019, the company’s San Antonio site will also support upgrades and modifications to the Navy’s F/A-18 fleet.
Among its new contracts is a March 2018 agreement whereby Boeing will modernize the U.S. Navy F/A-18 fleet, extending the life of existing Super Hornets to 9,000+ flight hours. This work will begin in 2019, with the San Antonio site serving as one of the company’s principal locations.
Major projects in support of C-17’s have been a mainstay of Boeing’s operation at the port.
Additionally, the company will continue to focus on its legacy aircraft—the bulk of which entails supporting the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense and allied nations. Other work that has been performed at the San Antonio site over the years include programs in support of the KC-135, as well as commercial 747 and 787 platforms.
As part of its growth initiative, Boeing recently invested in a new 59,000-square-foot "rapid-response hangar" to handle special requests or urgent needs that fall outside the scope of routine maintenance contracts, such as adding Wi-Fi to planes, maintaining fuel tanks or replacing engines. This hangar is part of the company’s significant investments at its Port facilities over the past 20 years.