Some of the world’s most sophisticated military aircraft come from the City of Brotherly Love. Boeing employs 6,000 people at its military aircraft design and manufacturing center in Philadelphia. The facility is undergoing a $130 million investment that will make it a global model for lean manufacturing.

The facility makes both the H-47 Chinook and V-22 Osprey. First designed 54 years ago, the Chinook helicopter has been called the workhorse of the United States army. The Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, first deployed by the U.S. Marines in 2000, combines the vertical-rise maneuverability of a helicopter with the speed performance of a turboprop. In its first 11 years of service, the Osprey has been used in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

Boeing’s major investment in lean manufacturing in Philadelphia, coupled with continuous improvement in product design and the nation’s first privately-owned wind tunnel, make this a Great Manufacturing Story with a very bright future.