August 31, 2004 No.1013

MHI Ships First Wing Center Section For the Boeing 747

Tokyo, August 31, 2004 - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) shipped the first wing center section produced for a Boeing 747 from its Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works in Aichi prefecture.

Wing Center Section for the Boeing 747     Until now the parts for the 747's wing center sections were procured and assembled elsewhere. In December 2002, however, Boeing and MHI concluded an agreement calling for the transfer to MHI of all related work, from parts production to assembly. In preparation for the transfer, starting in 2003 MHI undertook digitalization of design drawings and production of necessary tools and jigs. A rivet-driving ceremony took place in January this year. The first MHI-made center wing section will be fitted to Boeing's 1355th 747. MHI has been responsible for manufacture and supply of inboard flaps for the 747 since 1987. Wing center sections are a critical part of the aircraft, comprising the base of the wings connected to the fuselage. Wing center section has about 4,000 parts, measures 6.5 meters in width and length and 2.8 meters in height, and weighs 4.8 tons. Boeing and MHI have been working closely together for more than 30 years. For the 777, 767, 747 and 737 models, MHI has been responsible for the design and manufacture of various airframe structure components, including fuselages, fuselage panels, entry doors, cargo doors and inboard flaps. In March 2004 MHI won Boeing's "Suppliers of the Year" award in the category of major structures. The awards, given in recognition of a commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction, were conferred on 13 recipients from a field of 10,900 suppliers in more than 60 countries. In 2000 Boeing and MHI strengthened their long-term cooperative relationship by signing a memorandum under which the two partners pledged to build on their mutual trust in order to develop and enhance their respective operations in aerospace and diverse other business areas. The recent transfer of wing center section production is one of the fruits to emerge from that agreement, and going forward, as leading companies in the global aerospace industry, Boeing and MHI will continue to work together to provide the products, services and solutions the world requires. # # # About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global heavy machinery manufacturers, with consolidated sales of 2,593 billion yen (US$21.6 billion) in fiscal 2002 (year ended March 31, 2003). MHI's diverse lineup of products and services encompasses shipbuilding, steel structures, power plants, chemical plants, steel plants, environmental equipment, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space rocketry and air-conditioning systems. For more information, please visit the MHI website (http://www.mhi.co.jp). PRESS CONTACT: Hideo Ikuno: h.ikuno@daiya-pr.co.jp Tel: +813-6716-5277, Fax: +813-6716-5929 Daiya PR (in charge of public relations for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.)

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