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The global defence and aerospace giant has bolstered investment in Australia’s sovereign aviation capabilities with the unveiling of a major facility in Queensland.
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Boeing has announced the opening of a new distribution centre at Murarrie, near Brisbane Airport — the company’s largest aircraft spare parts and chemicals distribution centre in the Asia-Pacific region and three times larger than the company’s previous two Brisbane distribution facilities combined.
The facility has been designed to hold up to double the previous spare parts inventory and is purportedly capable of 15 times more freight each day direct to Brisbane, bypassing Melbourne.
This is tipped to accelerate deliveries to the commercial, business and general aviation, helicopter and defence markets.
The Boeing Brisbane Distribution Centre houses both the Brisbane operations of Boeing Distribution Australia Pty Ltd and Boeing Distribution Services Inc, which together are expected to deliver platform agnostic integrated supply chain solutions.
According to Boeing, the new centre also features the company’s only east coast ambient temperature chamber and large-scale freezer for the storage of chemicals, adhesives and sealants.
This is expected to eliminate the need for customers to store and maintain the correct inventory levels of highly sensitive items.
Queensland Minister for Employment and Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development Di Farmer MP presided over the official opening ceremony, welcoming the expected boost for the local community.
“Queensland is a well-known aviation hub in the Indo-Pacific region and Boeing’s investment in Brisbane gives us a distinct advantage as the defence and aviation industries continue their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” the minister said.
Travis Sullivan, vice president and general manager of Boeing Distribution Services, said the new facility would help streamline the supply chain network.
“This new facility will better connect our Australian and regional customers to the industry’s most advanced distribution network, so they get the right parts and solutions, at the right place, at the right time,” he said.
President of Boeing Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, Dr Brendan Nelson, went on to the benefits for Australia’s sovereign defence and commercial aviation industries.
“Boeing is celebrating 95 years in Australia this year and, throughout that time, we’ve been dedicated to protecting Australia, its allies and its interests,” Dr Nelson said.
“This centre, which holds a larger local inventory of high-demand products and the ability to quickly receipt and dispatch critical parts, will better protect our customers against global supply chain interruptions.
“By enhancing Australia’s sovereign aviation capability, we’re helping safeguard our customers’ operations and building much-needed capacity and resilience into our industry.”
Virgin Australia general manager, engineering operations, Darren Dunbier said the facility would improve transportation efficiencies, given its close proximity to the airline’s key maintenance facilities at Brisbane Airport.
“As a proud Queensland-based airline, we welcome Boeing’s significant investment in a modern facility in our home state which will enable us to service our existing aircraft with even greater efficiency and support our expanding fleet into the future,” he said.
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