Boeing’s Everett factory in Washington State boasts the world’s “largest digital graphic” according to Guinness World Records, an accolade that it was awarded in February 2006. It was produced by 3M (a conglomerate operating in the industry, worker safety, healthcare, and consumer goods) and designed by SuperGraphics.
The massive mural is now almost two decades old and is still the largest of its kind in the world. The massive 10,000-square-foot mural is painted across six factory bay doors and is now iconic of Boeing’s massive factory. It is possible to go for a tour of Boeing’s Everett factory and see not only the mural but also the aircraft being assembled.
Celebrating people and planes
In 2006, Boeing’sEverett factory building got a new look, with a mural applied to all six of its factory doors. Each door has a height of 82 feet (25 meters) and a width of 300 to 350 feet (91 to 107 meters). Being one of the more common American ‘units of measurement’ when it comes to big things, we can tell you that the width of each door is about the same length as a National Football League field!
It is only fitting that Boeing’s Everett factory would have the largest mural. After all, the Everett factory also holds the Guinness World Record for being the largest factory in the world by volume. Specifically, it measures 472,370,319 cubic feet, and has a floor area of 98.3 acres.
|
Everett factory mural in numbers |
|
|---|---|
|
Height |
82 feet |
|
Width |
6x 300 to 350 feet (each bay door) |
|
Area |
10,000 sq feet (929 square meters) |
|
Bay doors |
6 bay doors |
Guinness World Records described the 2006 mural as follows:
“The mural gives the building an exciting look, one that attracts the eye of anyone. It’s a way to celebrate the people that are inside the factory and their passion for airplanes.”
Indeed, this 2006 mural began on the left with a woman with her arms stretched out against a blue sky. Moving further to the right, the second, third, and fourth panels had images of aircraft windows and doors on them.
The fifth door had a close-up front view of a Boeing 777, while the sixth and final door had what appeared to be the angular winglet of a Boeing 747. “Each mural is distinct, but they carry through a common theme with lines rising and falling across all six,” Guinness notes in its description of the record.
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Going high-tech to get the job done
While it would have been quite impressive to have a team of expert artists hand-painting each door, this was not the case. Instead, Boeing and its partners went with something a little more high-tech. To get artwork onto these six large doors, Boeing and its partners applied “pressure-sensitive, adhesive-backed, digital graphics” to the factory building.
The doors were carefully measured by Boeing and Seattle-based SuperGraphics, which was the company responsible for printing and applying all the decals. SuperGraphics then used a state-of-the-art design system and electrostatic grand format inkjet and screen-printing technologies to create Boeing’s mural.
Guinness notes that the pressure-sensitive graphic film and other products were provided by 3M, which pioneered the use of graphic films to wrap vehicles and buildings with promotional messages.
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Updated in 2014
In August of 2014, the Puget Sound Business Journal wrote an article titled “Boeing’s waving woman waves goodbye: World’s largest digital mural being replaced.” Written while Boeing and its partners were in the process of putting up the new artwork, only one of the doors seemed to have its new look at the time.
While news and precise dates are scarce on when the new look was completed, we would have to imagine it was completed within a few weeks of the article’s publishing.
Photo: First Class Photography | Shutterstock
Greg Root, The President of GM Nameplate/Supergraphics, told Puget Sound Business Journal that “[f]or the most part, it’s celebrating each one of the planes,” adding that employees voted on the designs for this update.
Now that some eight years have passed since this update, we can see clearly that, from left to right, these doors feature the 777, 747, 737, and 787. It can be rewarding to go for a factory tour and see these impressive Boeing factory lines at work just behind the massive doors with the massive mural.
Have you seen these big doors and their artwork for yourself? Let us know by leaving a comment!
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Boeing
- Stock Code:
- BA
- Date Founded:
- 1916-07-15
- CEO:
- Dave Calhoun
- Headquarters Location:
- Chicago, USA
- Key Product Lines:
- Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787
- Business Type:
- Planemaker
