The first section of the Boeing 787-9 fuselage has left Alenia Aermacchi’s Monteiasi-Grottaglie plant, bound for Boeing’s final assembly line in Charleston, South Carolina. Also a supplier on the 787-8 program, Alenia Aermacchi has already delivered more than 100 fuselage sections for the baseline Dreamliner six years after opening the Monteiasi-Grottaglie plant in Italy’s Apulia region.

“The achievement of this important milestone marks how the industrial plant Monteiasi-Grottaglie has been able to cope with and succeed despite very strict production challenges,” said Alenia Aermacchi CEO Giuseppe Giordo.

The company produces the 787’s horizontal stabilizer and the mid and center-rear fuselage sections, consisting of 14 percent of the entire structure. Originally the mid and center-rear sections were mated to the rear section at Charleston before shipping to Boeing’s final assembly line at Everett but more recently Boeing has opened a second final assembly line in Charleston as well.

Formerly known as Alenia Aeronautica, the Italian company’s North American subsidiary once participated in partial assembly of the carbon-fiber fuselage in Charleston through its equal partnership in Global Aeronautica, first with Vought and then with Boeing. However, roughly a year after buying Vought’s stake, Boeing bought the other half from Alenia to give it complete control over quality processes and to ensure faster delivery of the fuselage sections.