Roofing in North Charleston, SC

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab said on Thursday it plans to spend $1 billion to support increased production of its 787 Dreamliner widebody jets, as the U.S. planemaker works to meet an earlier output target of 10 a month by 2026.

Boeing plans to expand operations at its Charleston County, South Carolina, facility with the $1 billion investment in infrastructure upgrades and the creation of 500 new jobs over five years, the planemaker said in a joint announcement with the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

The investment and expansion lay the groundwork for "potential future rate increases driven by market demand," Boeing said. The U.S. planemaker faces pressure from European rival Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab which has announced plans to raise output of its competing A350 to 12 a month by 2028.

After a prolonged lull, demand for widebody planes is accelerating sharply as airlines renew capacity as demand grows for international travel.

Boeing is trying to ramp up plane output to generate needed cash, after a crippling strike this autumn halted production of all but its Dreamliner jets.

Boeing's announcement reaffirms an earlier target of 10 Dreamliner jets a month announced during a company investor day in 2022. Hitting that rate would be a steep climb for the planemaker, given existing production levels and challenges as Boeing wrestles with manufacturing quality problems.

Boeing has been trying to bring 787 production back to a rate of five a month by the end of 2024, after scaling back output earlier this year due to supply-chain delays in getting seats and heat exchangers. Boeing has said its 787 production rate was five per month during the last quarter of 2023.

Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris and Dan Catchpole in Seattle Editing by Pooja Desai and Matthew Lewis

Updated: Dec. 11, 2024 at 4:31 PM PST

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Medical staff got a chance Wednesday to see progress in the development of the future Roper Hospital Medical Campus in North Charleston on Wednesday.

Dozens of representatives from several clinical departments gave their input in mock rooms for the new hospital design and conducted real-time reviews of the setup.

“This is the first opportunity that we’ve had to actually just see it on paper, but be able to walk the space,” said Marcela McGeorge, Director of Emergency Services.

“They are the experts at what they do so we have lots of architects and engineers and builders who are involved in the design of the campus, but really we want our clinicians and experts to think of we can put it on a drawing and it looks great, but getting them into the room and having them feel everything is really where we get to avoid having to change anything once we build the hospital,” said Charles Fletcher, vice president of Real Estate Construction.

There are a total of seven mock rooms. McGeorge said something as simple as the placement of a light switch or the oxygen or medical air make a huge difference.

“You have to think over scenarios like you know a regular patient but then a critical patient that may need a ventilator. They may know if the power goes out we have to switch over to emergency power,” said McGeorge.

The hospital is currently in the design and development phase. The goal is to have the hospital done by Summer 2029, but you could see construction progress on the first site, the old city hall, as early as January.

“The total budget for this project is about 1.2 billion dollars so you want to make sure you get it right because every dollar counts. We want to make sure we maximize every dollar for our patients,” said Fletcher.

Fletcher said the patient and family council will also have an opportunity to go through the rooms and give their input, adding that the patient’s needs come first.

After more than 150 years in downtown Charleston, Roper St. Francis Healthcare announced in November 2022 the move of its flagship hospital to a new medical campus with expanded outpatient services. The project will be located on a 27-acre parcel near Interstates 26 and 526.

The new location aims to better serve their counties in a more central location and be less impacted by the challenges of flooding the current hospital faces.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Dal'mont Gourdine playing at UConn, celebrating after making a play.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Dal'mont Gourdine is the standard bearer in more ways than one. His family, neighborhood, and high school all should be proud.

By the sounds of it, North Charleston-born and raised Gourdine could be the mayor of Storrs, Connecticut, after five years of playing football for the UConn Huskies.

"The people are very welcoming," he said. "They want to get to know you. Coach Hurley [is] over there across the street. Real cool dude - got to know him. Chopped it up plenty of times. The whole university. I know the president."

READ MORE | "App State, Charlotte introduce new football coaches as they look to turn around programs."

He's made UConn his home. When others "portal'ed" to the next spot, the only chasing he did was opposing quarterbacks.

"My game plan going forward is NFL," he said. "Main goal on top of the main goal since I was a youngin'."

That very well could happen. But with what he's already accomplished – it doesn't much matter.

"Where we come from in North Charleston, not many take that next step and next level to go where the family wants them to go," he said. "We probably had eight graduation tickets, but I had to go back to people and say I have like 20 graduation tickets. I have people coming from North Charleston up here. The university helped me get those tickets for the people, who spent the weekend up here."

READ MORE | "Clemson to face Texas in first round of College Football Playoff."

His college career is now over. A foot injury at practice late in the season forced surgery. He won't play in the upcoming Fenway Bowl against UNC. He's every bit a part of getting them there. You bet he'll be in Boston for it.

"Waking up at 4:30 a.m. to go to workouts and train," he said. "I'm happy for this team. The guys, the coaches, the families around this team. When things went left, we got them right during the season."

He's also the last of his kind. The final Garrett Tech Falcon to fly. The final athlete from the now-shuttered high school off of Dorchester Road.

"I think about it all the time," he said. "We always talk about high school, what is your HS doing this Friday? I never join in the conversation because I don't have a high school anymore. Garrett is gone. Last athlete, something I can hold my head on. I'm the last to ever do it at the school. Before they built CCSD, I tried to contact the people to get my name on there that I was the last one to do it."

He may not have to ask for that in Storrs, Connecticut.

Published: Nov. 14, 2024 at 3:02 PM PST|

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A Lowcountry knife maker is paving the way in his industry and making history while doing it.

Quintin Middleton knows his way around a kitchen.

“My mom has four boys. She said, ‘You not going anywhere unless you know how to cook, bake. So like you need to make sure you know how to do something,’” Middleton said.

For this Lowcountry native, that something was gaining knowledge about knives by cooking and even by watching cartoons.

“I wanted to make a sword or make a knife and be like He-Man or Star Wars. And so I would take a tubing off my swing set, flatten it with a hammer and chase my brothers around the yard like, “Huhhh! I’m [Ninja Turtle’s] Leonardo,’ or something like that,” Middleton laughed.

His culinary craft continues to grow as a cut above the rest. Middleton opened Middleton Made Knives in North Charleston. It’s the first Black-owned knife shop in the country.

Each knife is custom-made with its own specialty skill. Middleton shares a standard knife takes anywhere from four to eight hours for him to craft at his home workshop in St. Stephen.

The process takes patience, as did Middleton’s journey to entrepreneurship. He credits a mentor for taking him in as an apprentice early on and helping him hone his hobby.

“He saw my determination about learning the craft. He always said if you’re serious, I’m serious so that notion to see a young person willing to learn, willing to drive and willing to put in the time. So he saw that and poured that time into me,” Middleton said.

Determination and faith is at the forefront of Middleton’s entrepreneurial endeavors.

“Any time I do any big business, anytime even opening this store, I had to pray. I said, ‘God show me where you need me to go. Show me how to do this,’” he said.

Now, Middleton is hoping to breathe life back into the community that helped raise him, by providing jobs to people in the area.

“My big motto for this season is each one, lift one. So if I can lift or inspire somebody while I’m here or if I can lift and inspire someone to do entrepreneurship, that’s my thing to breathe life into them.”

Middleton Made Knives is located at 2154 Noisette Boulevard in North Charleston.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.