Northwest aerospace uses Paris Air Show to make its case

EVERETT — Back from the Paris Air Show, several local companies and organizations are taking inventory of leads generated from aerospace’s big event.

“There was a fair amount of interest from companies in investing in (Washington),” said Bill King, vice chairman of the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance.

King’s group, along with the Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development and Aerospace Futures Alliance, organized a state aerospace pavilion at the air show, which wrapped up earlier this month. Eleven Northwest aerospace companies participated.

“We had the largest participation yet,” King said.

“Companies seem to recognize that it is a global supply chain and they want to take part,” he said.

King estimated that the group had organized about 80 meetings for participating companies at the air show. Although it will be weeks before the association gets feedback from the companies that participated in the trip, King said, preliminary feedback was positive.

Cyndi Schaeffer, who represented Edmonds Community College at the air show, thought the trip went well.

Through its Business Training Center, Edmonds Community College provides customized training for aerospace companies. The community college offers computer-assisted design training, ISO standards courses and leadership development training.

“We have provided that training locally and nationally,” Schaeffer said.

Several of the companies that Schaeffer met with have headquarters in other states but have offices in Washington.

Edmonds Community College has been involved in some of the training courses for Boeing 787 workers at the Employment Resource Center in Everett. The community college also offers training in composites and advanced manufacturing.

Washington wasn’t the only state trying to promote its aerospace base at the air show. Several states from the South, which is becoming a rival region for aerospace to the Pacific Northwest, also participated in the show.

Businesses from the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Florida held a pre-event reception for officials from Northrop Grumman, Boeing’s rival for a lucrative aerial refueling tanker contest.