LYNNWOOD – Airbus is coming to town to meet with local jet-parts suppliers.
The Sept. 15 event in Lynnwood – just down I-5 from the Boeing Co.’s massive Everett plant – has already attracted interest from about 80 Northwest aerospace parts manufacturers looking to do business with the European jet builders, said Jack Cowan, executive director of the French-American Chamber of Commerce in Seattle.
There are even a few Boeing people on the RSVP list. “That’s kind of interesting,” Cowan added.
Snohomish County may be Boeing country, but it still makes sense for aerospace companies here to talk to Airbus, said John Monroe, who heads the aerospace outreach program for the Snohomish County Economic Development Council.
“If Snohomish County really wants to be this aerospace center of excellence in the world, they’ll have to do business with Airbus,” he said.
Some companies already are.
“A couple of the bigger guys, like Northwest Composites and Electro-Impact, have done really good business with Airbus,” Monroe said. “When you have a couple of influential big companies that are doing a significant amount of business with Airbus – why not?”
Marysville-based Northwest Composites builds the stairs for the cabins of the Airbus A380 superjumbo. Electro-Impact, in Mukilteo, designed and built the tools that Airbus uses to build the A380’s wings.
The French-American chamber exists to promote trade between companies in the Pacific Northwest and France, Cowan said.
In the past, most of the interest in aerospace has been from French companies looking to do business with Boeing. Many do, most notably Snecma Group, which provides a range of parts and engines to Boeing.
This is the first time Northwest companies have wanted to meet with Airbus, he said.
Airbus is sending a vice president from its North American parts division to meet with the local suppliers, Cowan said. “Instead of flying them to Toulouse, this will be something local,” he said.
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.
Airbus visits
What: Meeting for Northwest aerospace parts suppliers with Jacques Duplouy, senior director of procurement quality for Airbus North America.
When: 3 p.m. Sept. 15
Where: Embassy Suites Lynnwood, 20610 44th Ave. W.
Sponsors: Esterline Technologies of Bellevue; French-American Chamber of Commerce and British-American Business Council, both of Seattle.
Cost: $35
Details: Registration forms at www.faccpnw.org or call 206-443-4703.
Airbus visits
What: Meeting for Northwest aerospace parts suppliers with Jacques Duplouy, senior director of procurement quality for Airbus North America.
When: 3 p.m. Sept. 15
Where: Embassy Suites Lynnwood, 20610 44th Ave. W.
Sponsors: Esterline Technologies of Bellevue; French-American Chamber of Commerce and British-American Business Council, both of Seattle.
Cost: $35
Details: Registration forms online at www.faccpnw.org or call 206-443-4703.
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