History

On November 1, 1968, the McDonnell Douglas Corporation launched a financial services subsidiary named McDonnell Douglas Finance Corporation (MDFC) for the purpose of assisting the commercial aircraft finance industry in the financing of new and used aircraft.

Expanding on the knowledge and experience gained from leasing commercial aircraft, the Commercial Finance Group was established in 1973 to extend the same financial benefits to the commercial equipment and business aircraft industries.

Shortly thereafter, MDFC grew to become a recognized leader in the financial industry, providing leases and loans for commercial aircraft and commercial equipment. MDFC changed its name to Boeing Capital Corporation following the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger on August 1, 1997.

Boeing Capital Corporation is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company.

In 1903, two events launched the history of modern aviation. The Wright brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and William Boeing, born Oct. 1, 1881, in Detroit, Michigan, left Yale engineering college for the West Coast.

After making his fortune trading forest lands around Grays Harbor, Washington, Boeing moved to Seattle in 1908 and, two years later, went to Los Angeles for the first American air meet. Boeing tried to get a ride in one of the airplanes, but not one of the dozen aviators participating in the event would oblige. Boeing came back to Seattle disappointed, but determined to learn more about this new science of aviation.

For the next five years, Boeing's air travel was mostly theoretical, explored during conversations at Seattle's University Club with George Conrad Westervelt, a Navy engineer who had taken several aeronautics courses from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The two checked out biplane construction and were passengers on an early Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company-designed biplane that required the pilot and passenger to sit on the wing. Westervelt later wrote that he "could never find any definite answer as to why it held together." Both were convinced they could build a biplane better than any on the market.

In the autumn of 1915, Boeing returned to California to take flying lessons from another aviation pioneer, Glenn Martin. Before leaving, he asked Westervelt to start designing a new, more practical airplane. Construction of the twin-float seaplane began in Boeing's boathouse, and they named it the B & W, after their initials.

The Boeing Company is the world's leading aerospace company, with its heritage mirroring the history of flight. It is the largest manufacturer of satellites, commercial jetliners, and military aircraft. The company is also a global market leader in missile defense, human space flight, and launch services. In terms of sales, Boeing is the largest U.S. exporter. Total company revenues for 2001 were $58 billion.

Boeing continues to expand its product line and develop new technologies to meet customer needs. From creating new versions of its family of commercial airplanes; to developing, producing, supporting and modifying aircraft for the U.S. military; to building launch vehicles capable of lifting more than 14 tons into orbit; to improving communications for people around the world through an advanced network of satellites, Boeing continues a long tradition of technical excellence and innovation.

The global reach of the Chicago-based company includes customers in 145 countries, employees in more than 60 countries and operations in 26 states. Worldwide, Boeing and its subsidiaries employ close to 171,000 people with major operations in the Puget Sound area of Washington state; Southern California; Wichita, Kansas; and St. Louis, Missouri.

Boeing is organized into five major units: Air Traffic Management, Boeing Capital Corporation, Commercial Airplanes, Connexion by Boeing, and Integrated Defense Systems. In addition, the Shared Services Group provides common services and efficient infrastructure services that enable business units to concentrate on profitable growth, and the Phantom Works provides advanced research and development, working with business units to identify their technology needs and addressing them with innovative, affordable solutions.