Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co., which is at least eight months behind schedule on delivering the 787 Dreamliner commercial jet, said it will partner with a unit of India's Tata group to build components for the aircraft.

Boeing signed an agreement to partner with TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd. to make floor beams for the 787, the Chicago-based planemaker said in an e-mailed statement today without giving financial details. TAL Manufacturing is a unit of Tata Motors Ltd., India's largest maker of trucks and buses.

TAL will build the beams at its factory in the western Indian city of Nagpur and supply them to Boeing partners in Japan, Italy and the U.S. for assembling, Boeing said.

Boeing is facing opposition from some unions on outsourced work on the 787 program and subsequent delays. The union and members of the International Association of Machinists have complained about the unprecedented level of outsourced work. The company's engineers union has asked the plane maker to explain how it will keep the program on schedule.

``This agreement has the potential to develop into a more broad-based alliance,'' Tata Motors Managing Director Ravi Kant said in the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gautam Chakravorthy in Mumbai at chakravorthy@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 6, 2008 04:07 EST