Teammates mark North Line opening with Renton-to-Everett relay

After taking hold of a fuselage-shaped baton, 737 Production Engineering Director and Chief Engineer Kevin Stigerts set off running into downtown Seattle--cheered on by Boeing teammates and local sports mascots the Mariner Moose and Sammy the Sounder.

“I love being out here representing Boeing and all my teammates who are inside building the 737,” said Stigerts, who ran the relay leg from T-Mobile Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Mariners, in south Seattle to Pier 50 along the city’s downtown waterfront. “I get to work in a factory every day, which is great, but being out is awesome too.”

Stigerts was one of 43 Boeing teammates and business partners who completed a 40-mile relay from Renton to Everett ahead of the official opening of the 737 North Line last Friday. Their journey represented the ties between the two sites and Boeing’s continued commitment to the Puget Sound area.

• Other relay participants included Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone and Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin.

The relay began in the early morning on the Renton factory floor, where the 737 airplanes are built for decades. Teammates handed off the baton along a route that passed by Boeing’s Seattle Delivery Center, Seattle landmarks and along local cycling and running trails before arriving in Everett for the North Line ribbon cutting.

‘Once in a lifetime’: Participants, representing teams from across the program, expressed their excitement for the relay, with several emphasizing their personal connections to the 737 and North Line.

“It’s really so cool that the whole team is pulling together to help open this line, said Capt. James Hanley, 737 chief pilot. “This relay symbolizes the team coming together and making this company great.”

Hanley, who ran an early leg of the relay alongside Boeing Field between Renton and downtown Seattle, finished at the Seattle Delivery Center and said he was “so thrilled be a part of it.”

“I ran an area right in front of the flightline, so it’s special to me, and I get to run at 7:37 a.m.,” said Hanley. “What could be better than that?”

Brandon Egbert, 737 North Line Quality staff analyst who ran a stretch in Everett onto the Boeing Everett site, said the relay was “phenomenal.”

“Everybody was super excited to do it, and from what I heard, everyone did a fantastic job,” said Egbert.

‘We’re here to support’: In addition to participating teammates, two runners from Boeing customer United Airlines completed a segment in Seattle to demonstrate their support for the new production line.

Angela Wray, United Airlines director of Aircraft Programs Engineering, called her participation in the relay a “vote of confidence in our partnership.”

Mara Palcisco, United Airlines vice president of Engineering and Reliability who ran with Wray, said the airline is excited by the prospect the North Line could help boost the number of 737 MAX airplanes produced each month from 47 to 52 in the future.

“We’ve been working with Boeing for decades,” said Palcisco. “We’re excited now that they’re taking all of those lessons learned and process improvements (from narrow body production) and expanding it up to Everett.”

A warm welcome: As relay participants neared the ribbon cutting ceremony, Boeing teammates gathered to cheer on participants as they ran through the Everett site, including a crowd of supporters standing outside the Everett Delivery Center.

Runner Stigerts said he looks forward to “building a great production line” in Everett.

“We’ve been building 737s in Renton, and to be able to bring that awesome product to Everett, it’s really great for the whole Seattle area,” said Stigerts.

The crowd of 737 teammates gathered inside the factory bay that is now home of the new North Line for the ribbon cutting stood and clapped their approval as Logan Fouts, Tooling Engineering leader, completed the relay. The fuselage baton had made its way home, after nearly seven hours and 40 miles.

By Kelsey Wang