OREANDA-NEWS. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, has begun construction of its third assembly facility for aircraft parts on the premises of its Handa Plant located in Handa City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. At the new facility, FHI plans to assemble center wing boxes for Boeing's next-generation passenger jet, the Boeing 777X. The center wing box is a vital section of an airplane connecting the fuselage and the wings. The new facility is scheduled to be completed in 2016.

The Handa Plant currently performs assembly operations for center wing boxes for Boeing's 777 and 787 passenger jets as well as center wing boxes for maritime patrol aircraft (P-1) and next-generation cargo transport aircraft (C-2) for Japan's Ministry of Defense. In undertaking the new project to deliver center wing boxes for the Boeing 777X, FHI decided to construct a new facility on the premises of the existing Handa Plant with an eye to integrate center wing box assembly operations and to ensure efficient shipping of products. The capital investment related to the Boeing 777X, including the new facility, is expected to be approximately 10 billion yen. With the addition of this new facility, FHI's Handa Plant will become a manufacturing complex for center wing boxes that has no parallel in the world.

On December 17, 2014, the new facility was selected by Aichi Prefecture to receive a subsidy under the subsidy program to promote investments in the cutting-edge sectors of the 21st century. The subsidy will be disbursed as part of the second round of subsidies for FYE2015.

FHI has expertise in the design and manufacture of center wing boxes as well as wings including parts and structures made of composite materials. FHI will continue to strive to further enhance its technologies and thereby consolidate its position in the global aerospace industry.