Aviation Industry Continues Hot Streak
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana's aviation sector continues in the spotlight. Governor Mike Pence will lead an economic development delegation to England next month for one of the world's premier aviation industry gatherings. The announcement comes on the heels of the University of Notre Dame detailing a $36 million research and testing collaboration in South Bend and GE Aviation's plans for a $100 million jet aircraft engine plant in Lafayette. Indiana Secretary of Commerce Victor Smith says Governor Pence's invitation to the Farnborough International Airshow speaks to the prowess of the state's aviation industry. June 26, 2014
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Governor Mike Pence will lead a delegation of Hoosier business and community officials on a jobs and economic development mission to the United Kingdom (UK) next month, which will include attending the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA), one of the largest worldwide exhibitions dedicated to the aviation industry.
“Aerospace companies soar in Indiana. Around the world, the industry is catching wind that companies like GE Aviation, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce are all choosing to locate their growth here,” said Pence. “Like our trips to Japan and Germany, our mission in the United Kingdom will be focused on sharing why Indiana's business environment propels growth, lifts potential and engineers flight into the future of aerospace innovation. Indiana’s story is one of a state that works, and from its world-class workforce to its economical cost of doing business, I look forward to sharing our story across the Atlantic.”
The Governor will depart for the UK on July 12 and conclude the jobs mission on July 16. During the trip, he will attend the inauguration of the Indiana booth at FIA and meet with executives from some of the world's most influential aviation and aerospace companies, including GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce, Alcoa, BAE Systems and Raytheon, highlighting the many advantages of doing business in Indiana. He will also make calls to executives from Tate & Lyle, BP and ArcelorMittal in London.
Pence will continue to build upon the state's momentum in the aerospace industry and promote Indiana as a leader in the aviation industry at the airshow. Already this year, Indiana's aviation community welcomed GE Aviation's announcement that it will locate a new $100 million jet engine assembly facility in Lafayette, Alcoa's new $100-million jet engine part manufacturing facility in La Porte, and BAE System's groundbreaking on its new aviation electronics manufacturing center in Fort Wayne.
With 109,000 trade visitors and nearly 1,500 exhibitors from more than 20 countries attending FIA in 2012, the airshow provides the ideal opportunity for aviation and aerospace companies to connect with industry leaders, meet with customers and ultimately, explore future business opportunities.
The cost of the state delegation is being covered through private donations to the Indiana Economic Development Foundation. In addition to Governor Pence, the state will be represented by First Lady Karen Pence and Secretary of Commerce Victor Smith.
This will be Pence’s third international job-hunting trip as governor and comes just three months after he returned from a jobs mission to Germany. His targeted job-hunting trip to Germany in April included visiting five cities and meeting with dozens of German companies looking to grow in Indiana, three of which announced Indiana as the location for new jobs and investment opportunities during the trip. Last fall, Pence also led a 40-person delegation to Japan where he had more than 20 meetings with Japanese company executives, including the presidents and chief executive officers of Toyota Motor Corp., Honda and Fuji Heavy Industries.
“We made it a priority that our next Indiana job hunting trip would be to the United Kingdom,” said Pence. “As Indiana's largest source of European investors—and second largest globally right behind Japan – British companies employ 30,000 Hoosiers. When the international aerospace community descends on Farnborough next month, Indiana will be there shining as a beacon for opportunity and growth.”
Earlier today, the University of Notre Dame, in partnership with General Electric, announced plans to establish a turbomachinery research facility in South Bend, creating 60 new jobs. The new jet engine research facility will house test facilities, a machine shop and a supercomputing center to conduct research and test the performance of new gas turbine engine technology used by commercial and military aircraft. Notre Dame, along with Purdue, Indiana State, Embry-Riddle and Vincennes, are universities throughout the state that offer specialized aviation and aerospace degrees that train Hoosiers to lead the industry toward continued success in Indiana.
Source: The Indiana Economic Development Corp.