Boeing Rolls Out First South Carolina Dreamliner

"Ten is what we're on contract for now," he said. "We are studying things above 10."

Boeing recently negotiated a contract with the International Association of Machinists for its Puget Sound employees: The negotiations seemed to resolve many of the differences that have split the company and its principal union and, indeed, Boeing agreed to boost production in the Puget Sound area.

Now the company appears to have the best of both worlds, labor peace as well as the opportunity to grow its non-union production in Charleston, where it currently employs about 6,000 workers.

"We operate our business like you would operate a small business," Cavazzoni said. "If you're qualified to do something, you can do that.

"We like to provide an environment where our people feel like they own the business, without the need of third-party intermediaries," he said.

The mood here is almost frontierish, as Boeing came and cleared land and rapidly built one of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the world, one of a handful of plants that makes widebody aircraft. Now, the company is rushing to boost its production capacity to meet a target, after which, it is clear, a new target will be set.

"Two years ago, this was forest," said Mattthew Borland, director of the aft body plant. "It was all woods out there."

-- Written by Ted Reed in Charleston, S.C.

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