History of the Boeing Company - Admission/Application Essay Example

? History of the Boeing Introduction The Boeing Company is an American aerospace company and is thelargest and the foremost commercial jet transports manufacturer in the world. In addition, it is the leading producer of military helicopters, missiles, space vehicles, and military aircraft (The Boeing, 2013). The company’s standing as the leader in the aerospace industry has been enhanced significantly by great innovations over the years and its acquisition of the defense and aerospace units in 1996 of Rockwell International Corporation, as well as its merger in 1997 with McDonnell Douglas Corporation. Presently, the company controls over half of the jet aircraft market and controls a significant market segment of military helicopters and jets, space technology and missile systems (Millbrooke, 1999). Like many successful companies in the United States and around the world, the Boeing has had a relatively long history marked by events that have shaped its development and eventual success. This paper will discuss the history of the Boeing. It will look at various stages of the Boeing history since its inception to present. The history of the Boeing can be traced to 1916 when William Boeing and Conrad Westervelt, a navy engineer, founded the Pacific Aero Products Company in the City of Seattle. They both built the S & W seaplane; however, a year later Westervelt was recalled to active military service in the First World War, and the company was renamed the Boeing Airplane Company (Sell, 2001). Boeing and Westervelt had established contacts with the navy that proved to be interesting especially during the First World War where the company manufactured aircraft for patrol and training for the Navy. The company first exploited an airline after building airplanes; in 1919, they started the international postal line, which was the first one between Victoria in British Columbia and Seattle (Crouch, 2004). The US Mail contracted the Boeing in 1927 to distribute the mail between Illinois, Chicago and California, San Francisco, as well as built its initial commercial airplane- the model 40. The Boeing merged in 1929 with Pratt and Whitney, an engine manufacturer, and established the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. Due to the merger, this relatively large company subsequently bought a number of regional airlines. In 1931, the company was renamed to United Air Lines. However, in 1934, the company had to deal with antitrust actions by the federal authority, which required it to split into three different companies; the United Airlines, Pratt & Whitney, and Boeing Airplane Company (Shaw, 1999). The Second World War was an important event to the history of the Boeing. It was instrumental in further stimulating the growth and expansion of the company. During this war, Boeing produced several hundreds of the main US bomber, Flying Fortresses. Considering the war effort, a significant part of the company’s workers were women. At the height of the war in 1944, the company was producing sixteen B-17 aircraft model each day (Grant, Duxford Imperial War Museum, & Smithsonian Institution, 2010). The reputation of Boeing was significantly enhanced by the fact that many pilots cherished this model of airplane, especially because it would remain in the air and be able to return safely even when half shot to pieces. The company also produced B-29 bomber, Enola Gay being the most famous of this aircraft; it carried the first atomic bomb on August 6, 1945 to Hiroshima. While the Boeing was achieving remarkable success, it had to contend with stiff competition in early 1950s from McDonnell-Douglas, a company that was making excellent propeller aircraft. However, due to its previous military experience, William Boeing decided to counter the competition by fully playing the commercial jet-aircraft card (Millbrooke, 1999). In 1958, the Boeing launched the 707 that proved to be a huge commercial success. This aircraft was succeeded by the 727, 737, and later on 747. It bought Vertol Corporation in 1960, which was then the largest independent helicopters' manufacturer in the world. The unit of Boeing manufacturers focused mainly on tandem-rotor helicopters (Sell, 2001). In addition, it was responsible for design and development of the CH-46 Sea Knight and CH-47 Chinook military transport helicopters. The company diversified in 1961 into other technologies; in particular, it designed the initial steps of massive Saturn Rocket, which took the Apollo capsule to the moon. Boeing built Lunar Orbiters in 1960s and 1970s thus achieving remarkable success in the space sector (Shaw, 1999). Lunar Orbiters was the first spacecraft for NASA to the Moon’s orbit. It also built the Mariner 10 space probe that took the initial close-up pictures of the Mercury’s surface (1974- 75). The reputation of Boeing as a leader in space sector was crowned in 1993 when NASA selected it as an ISS’ prime contractor. This achievement was further confirmed two years later when it became responsible for verification and integration of ISS systems, as well as the delivery, design, verification, manufacture, and analysis of the station’s American components (Grant, Duxford Imperial War Museum, & Smithsonian Institution, 2010). The Boeing made a decision in 1966 to build the famous 747, the world’s largest commercial Jet-airplane. To start with, there was a need to build a huge factory to house this large airplane’s assembly line. The building was completed in 1968. It is during the same year that the first 747 plane was delivered. The building was constructed for twenty years and it happened in three phases; in 1979 it was extended for a first time to house the 767; the period was again extended in 1990 to house the 777 which is the most recent Boeing offspring (Grant, Duxford Imperial War Museum, & Smithsonian Institution, 2010). This culminated into the Boeing Assembly Hall, which is a building with the world’s largest volume; it has a height of 35 meters and surface of 400,000 square meters. It has an incredible volume of 13 million meters. Since the heat comes from the workers, the machines, and the lights, and its cooling is obtained through opening of huge doors, there is no air conditioning or heating in the hall (Sell, 2001). In 1991, the United States Air Force made a choice of a design offered by a consortium made up of Boeing, General Dynamics, and Lockheed for a twin-engine advanced tactical fighter that had stealth characteristics. Subsequently in 1996, Lockheed and Boeing received United States defense contracts of building competitive technology demonstrators intended as multirole, next generation, and affordable fighter for the Britain and United States armed services (Crouch, 2004). Boeing joined Anglo-Norwegian, Russian, and Ukrainian partners in 1995 forming Sea Launch, which was a commercial launch services company that sent satellites into geostationary orbit in the Pacific Ocean from a floating platform at an equatorial site. Eventually, Boeing became NASA’s largest supplier providing it with rocket stages, electronics, as well the International Space Station components. It cemented its position as a leader in space sector in 1996 when it purchased Rockwell International Corporation that enabled it to receive contracts for the engines and the Space Shuttle (Millbrooke, 1999). The year 1997 marked a very important moment in the history of Boeing; it purchased its archrival McDonnell Douglas Corporation for over 16 billion dollars. This was the largest merger to have ever been executed in the aviation industry. This move enabled Boeing to acquire a unique position in spending on military (Evans and Gibbons, 2010). It should however be noted that this move had a serious setbacks’ series afterwards. In spite of a large number of orders, the company faced a shortage of parts and a shortage of staff. This led to delays that compelled the company to stop the assembly lines especially of the 747 and 737 for one month. In addition, the McDonnell Douglas’ MD-90 and MD-80 passenger aircraft production was tapered out gradually (Crouch, 2004). This resulted to a loss of billions of dollars, and caused the first annual loss to Boeing since 1947. The company announced that the MD-11 jumbo jet production would stop in 1998; 717, which was formerly MD-95 became McDonnell Douglas’ only remaining model. Finally, that meant the end of McDonnell Douglas as the Boeing’s strongest competitor (Grant, Duxford Imperial War Museum, & Smithsonian Institution, 2010). The Boeing made significant developments from the start of twenty-first century to present. In 2000, the company acquired the communications and space division of Hughes Electronics Corporation. It was then able to control the largest satellite manufacturer in the world. The headquarters of the company was moved to Chicago from Seattle a year later (Sell, 2001). Presently, the company produces not only commercial aircraft, but also military helicopters and aircraft including the famed Apache combat helicopter. This helicopter is an aircraft with extremely exceptional technical features. The success of the company has seen it being one of the biggest players in the aviation industry with clients from across the world; British Airways is its largest customer with 75 aircraft. In addition, the Boeing aircraft has been used in numerous star movies. For instance, Bruce Willis and John Travolta fly their own version of Boeing 700. It is important to note that being a major American aviation company, Boeing plays a very critical role in the nation’s security and during emergency. For example, during national emergency, the president can exceptionally call upon it and all other major American aviation companies to transport equipment and soldiers all over the world in nearly 48 hours (The Boeing, 2013). The Boeing started taking orders in 2003 for the 787 Dreamliner which is a mid-range jet with high speeds and which would match the fastest long-range wide-body planes with vastly improved efficiency for fuel. This can be attributed to a creative design of new high-bypass turbofan engines developed by Rolls-Royce and Pratt &Whitney, as well as radically innovative design of the plane’s body. Nearly half of the 787 primary structures, including the wings and the fuselage were made of plastic composite and carbon-fire materials (Evans and Gibbons, 2010). These materials are lighter compared to aluminum alloys that are used in the manufacturing of most aircraft. A huge number of airlines around the world saw the 787 model as important in upgrading of their fleet especially in the wake of increasing fuel costs. As such, most of them ordered hundreds of new 787 planes. Despite high anticipation that 787 will be delivered for commercial services in 2008, this did not happen because it was beset with a number of several production challenges. As a result, Boeing did not make the first delivery until 2011. All 787s started operation globally in January 2013 after the United States Federal Aviation Administration issued airworthiness directive on this model (The Boeing, 2013). Subsequently, other regulators worldwide took up the directive, but its operation was grounded temporary until a potential battery risk was rectified. In order to enhance its competitiveness and constantly improve its profitability, the Boeing has made major products development and innovation in recent years. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner that was formally launched in 2007 has achieved above projected orders and outsold its archrival, Airbus A350. The launch of 787 was preceded by the launch of 777 Freighter in 2005 particularly with an order from Air France. The other customers of 777 Freighter included Emirates and FedEx (Grant, Duxford Imperial War Museum, & Smithsonian Institution, 2010). Also, in the same year Boeing announced officially that it would produce a larger 747 variant, starting with Freighter version with orders from two major cargo carriers. The second 747 version was for passengers. The two 747 versions featured advanced, new wings and engines, a lengthened fuselage, as well as the integration of other technologies designed and built for the 787. Also, the Boeing received a contract from the United States Navy for an antisubmarine warfare patrol aircraft, the P-8 Poseidon Multi-mission Aircraft. In a bid to diversify its products, the company also produced new extended 737 range versions, which included the 737-900ER and 737-700ER. The former is the latest version and has the capability of flying more passengers because of its two additional extra emergency exits (The Boeing, 2013). It is no doubt that globalization and advances in technology has impact in all sectors in the society, and aviation sector is no exception. The Boeing is alive to this reality and it has realized that a high number of passengers are reliant on technology to stay in touch. It is for this reason that the Boeing introduced a satellite-based internet connectivity service, which promises air travelers access to unlimited and unprecedented the internet (Yenne, 2005). This product was debuted in 2005 and it generally received favorable reviews for a year. However, it faced stiff competition from cheaper alternatives especially from cellular networks and the Boeing decided to discontinue the service in August 2006. The company further sought to enhance its competitiveness in 2010 through the acquisition of Argon ST Inc., which has enabled the company to develop Command, Communications, Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Computers, Control, and Intelligence, as well as combat systems. Acquisition of Argon ST was part of the Boeing’s strategy in expanding its capabilities and capacities in addressing intelligence and cyber markets (Evans and Gibbons, 2010). Like other companies, the Boeing has future strategies that are aimed at maintaining its position as the largest and the foremost commercial jet transports manufacturer in the world, as well as the leading producer of military helicopters, missiles, space vehicles, and military aircraft (Evans and Gibbons, 2010). Through its internal document, the company has outlined two major future concepts it seeks to achieve: environmental-friendly planes, and low-cost airplanes. Presently, the company is listed as among the largest corporate air pollution producer in the United States. It has been linked to over twenty toxic waste sites especially in Simi Hills in Southern California where its Santa Susana Field Laboratory is located. In particular, it has been linked to pollution of soil, air, surface water, and groundwater, which have been found to contain dioxins, toxic metals, and radionuclides. Additionally, water and air was found to contain toxins such as hydrazine and perchlorate (Yenne, 2005). There are serious environmental concerns that have been raised over the years concerning the airline industry in general and Boeing in particular. Estimates indicate that the airline industry accounts for nearly 11 percent of greenhouse gases emission by the transportation sector in the United States (Grant, Duxford Imperial War Museum, & Smithsonian Institution, 2010). Environmental experts argue that the share of aviation in the greenhouse gas emissions is expected to grow because of increase in air travels, and because ground vehicles use alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. The Boeing appreciates the reality of environmental degradation caused by its business and is working towards developing environmental-friendly planes. It is increasing its use of biofuels with the aim of reducing flight-related emissions by between 60 and 80 percent. It seeks to achieve this by blending existing jet fuels with algae fuels (Evans and Gibbons, 2010). Conclusion Apparently, the Boeing has a long and rich history. Since its inception, it has significantly shaped the aviation industry and revolutionized air travel. Presently, it is the largest and the foremost commercial jet transports manufacturer in the world. In addition, it is the leading producer of military helicopters, missiles, space vehicles, and military aircraft. As has been noted, this present position of the Boeing can be attributed to innovation and creativity that the company has demonstrated over the years. The biggest concern of the company as at now is in respect to the environment. Considering that the aviation industry in general and the Boing in particular are among the biggest threats to the environment, the company is working towards developing environmental-friendly planes. References Crouch, T. D. (2004). Wings: A history of aviation from kites to the space age. Washington: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Evans, A. A., & Gibbons, D. (2010). The compact timeline of aviation history. Bassingbourn, Hertfordshire, UK: Worth Press. Grant, R. G., Duxford Imperial War Museum., & Smithsonian Institution. (2010). Flight: 100 years of aviation. London: Dorling Kindersley. Millbrooke, A. M. (1999). Aviation history. Englewood, CO: Jeppesen Sanderson. Rodgers, E. (1996). Flying high: The story of Boeing and the rise of the jetliner industry. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. Sell, T. M. (2001). Wings of power: Boeing and the politics of growth in the Northwest. Seattle, Wash. [u.a.: Univ. of Washington Press. Shaw, R. (1999). Boeing 737-300 to 800. Osceola, WI: MBI Pub. Co. The Boeing. (2013). The Boeing Company. Retrieved on 26 November, 2013 from http://www.boeing.com/boeing/ Yenne, B. (2005). The story of the Boeing company. St. Paul, MN: Zenith Press. Read More