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Winnipeg Free Press

Boeing unveils Winnipeg campus expansion

Before a plane can take flight, its maker needs freezer space — lots of freezer space. And so, as Boeing faces an order backlog of roughly 6,500 aircraft, it's nearly doubled its freezer floor at its Winnipeg plant. 'We're optimally positioning Winnipeg to be able to surge and grow,' said Al Meinzinger, Boeing Canada president, before sharing the American multinational corporation's backlog stat. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Al Meinzinger, Boeing Canada's president, inside the 7,250 square-foot freezer for storing composite materials at -23 celsius. He visited the Manitoba capital on Tuesday. Colleagues and stakeholders gathered at 99 Murray Park Rd., lauding a $20 million facility expansion — the company's fifth building extension in Winnipeg. Meinzinger stopped inside a new, roughly 7,250-square-foot freezer filled with rows of empty shelves. Those spaces can fit 365 pallets, or 3,285 rolls, of composite materials frozen to extend shelf life. Frozen rolls, once needed, will be pulled into a nearby (also new) 2,260-sq.-ft. thaw room. They're unrolled, cut and shaped into hundreds of parts used in Boeing planes. Landing gear doors are among the pieces created and shipped from Winnipeg to the United States for plane assembly. Doubling the freezer capacity will allow Boeing to meet U.S. commercial fleet demands, Meinzinger said. Boeing forecasts a need for 44,000 new aircraft over the next 20 years, he added. The wait for a new Boeing plane could last three to four years, estimated John Gradek, an aviation expert and faculty lecturer at McGill University in Montreal. Airbus, another major plane manufacturer, also has years-long wait times. 'The airline industry really has to catch up to the latest technologies that are … evolving on these airplanes,' Gradek said. 'The industry wants those airplanes sooner than later, and that's created a backlog.' New planes are more fuel-efficient, Gradek noted. Increased global demand for air travel has also boosted demand for planes, he added. Global air passenger demand hit a new high in 2024, the International Air Transport Association reported. Traffic was up 3.8 per cent from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Boeing unveiled a 12,000 sq. ft. building expansion at its Winnipeg facility, Tuesday. Meinzinger cited travel and plane replacements as reasons for Boeing's long order list. Approximately 100,000 Canadians fly on a Boeing plane in a given day, he told a crowd gathered Tuesday. Boeing is among the world's largest plane manufacturers. The U.S.-headquartered company planted roots in Winnipeg 54 years ago. Parts for all its commercial aircraft come from the Canadian facility. Venkatesh Shenoy joins roughly 1,500 people employed at the Winnipeg site. He oversaw the new freezer project, which opened three months ahead of schedule; ground-breaking occurred in 2023. Despite taking place during a period of inflation and tariffs, the project stayed on budget, Shenoy said. He pointed to agreements with suppliers and a one-year feasibility study. Boeing staff stayed mum on tariff impacts affecting its manufacturing. Winnipeg-produced parts ship to Washington and South Carolina. 'We continue to monitor tariffs,' Meinzinger said, adding Boeing is a 'global company' with integrated supply chains. Boeing's most recent report to investors, for the first quarter of 2025, notes tariffs could have a 'material impact' on its financial position. However, a World Trade Organization policy largely exempts aerospace parts from tariffs. Manitoba Aerospace has pointed its members to resources aiding them in documentation — either to avoid tariffs, or to get government remittances for tariff costs they've paid. Manitoba Aerospace counts nearly 50 members. Around half build parts for aerospace and defence sectors. 'It's great to see that Boeing is investing in their facility here in Winnipeg,' said Wendell Wiebe, the non-profit's chief executive. 'It gives you the impression that they are here to stay, which is a good thing.' Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Al Meinzinger speaks at the unveiling of Boeing's new building expansion Tuesday which adds 12,000 sq. ft. to its Winnipeg facility which is already the biggest Boeing plant in Canada. Boeing last expanded its Winnipeg footprint 12 years ago. At the time, it added 150,000 sq. ft., creating a 700,000-sq.-ft. campus. The company since made headlines for a number of crashes involving its planes. The latest happened this month, when more than 200 people died onboard an Air India flight. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Staff at the Tuesday unveiling in Winnipeg declined to comment on the incident. '(Boeing) still (has) their issue with respect to the confidence that the industry has in the Boeing product,' Gradek said. In the past year, Boeing announced a new board chair and chief executive. It will hopefully allow the company to rebuild and improve its reputation, Gradek said: '(Boeing has) got some very, very interesting opportunities ahead of it.' The new Winnipeg freezer hovers at -23 C. The expansion received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. 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