Boeing

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, April 17, 2008 -- Boeing Australia Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA], today opened a component repair business that will be housed in a new AUS$10 million facility at Melbourne Airport, Victoria.

The new business will maintain, repair and overhaul a wide range of components for commercial and military aircraft, ranging from the revolutionary Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the Royal Australian Air Force's F/A-18 Hornet.

Boeing Australia Limited President David Withers said the opening of the new business puts the company at the forefront of aircraft composite-repair technologies and significantly expands its capabilities.

"Boeing Australia Limited now offers defense and commercial customers the most sophisticated services for composite, bonded and conventional aircraft components in the Asia-Pacific region," Withers said.

The 53,800-square-foot (5,000-square-meter) facility features a 33-foot-long (10-meter-long) autoclave (a high-pressure chamber for curing composites), a high-temperature oven and a clean room for the repair of composite and next-generation structural materials used in the manufacture of modern aircraft components.

The facility also has a state-of-the-art paint booth that will soon include an advanced media stripping machine to remove paint from aircraft components without damaging the underlying composite material.

Boeing Australia Limited plans to significantly grow the new component repair business, which currently employs 25 experienced engineers, technicians and tradespeople.

"We expect the component repair business to double in size and revenue within the next three to five years, based on projected commercial-airline and military fleet growth and development of new composite-repair methodologies," Withers said.

Withers added that the location of the new business puts the company close to commercial customers, such as Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Blue, so they can receive the fastest maintenance, repair and overhaul service turnaround times.

"Through this new business, our customers have access to the entire Boeing Australia Limited capability. It means we can lend our expertise to our customers when and where they need it," Withers said.

The new business is certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the European Aviation Safety Agency, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

Boeing Australia Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary that reports to Boeing Support Systems, is a high-technology aerospace company specializing in the installation and support of systems for defense and commercial customers. It is one of the leading aerospace companies in Australia, employing more than 2,500 people across 16 sites.