Offloading." That's what The Boeing Company (Chicago) calls it. Whatever the terminology - we'll go with outsourcing - it's a big trend in the aerospace industry. Boeing and other OEMs are not only farming out a big chunk of machined and sheetmetal parts production, but also expecting vendors to supply large aircraft subassemblies and even design expertise. At Boeing, about 65-70% of the content for a given airplane is procured from outside sources, according to Chuck Ague. A director of supplier management for Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) business, he's an 18-year veteran of both the commercial and defense sides of the business. Agne works out of Boeing's Long Beach, CA, facility, which produces the C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane.
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