Alabama team kicks off Day 1 appointments at Farnborough Airshow

FARNBOROUGH, England — Led by Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield, the Alabama economic development team entered the opening day of the 2022 Farnborough International Airshow working a full slate of appointments with representatives of aerospace, aviation and defense companies.

“We’re beginning our Farnborough mission with the objective of building on our long-standing connections with some high-performing aerospace companies and forming new relationships with others in the industry,” said Greg Canfield, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.

“Today is an important day for us at the airshow, and it’s going to be a busy one. We believe it will be a very productive day.”

Economic developers from around Alabama will engage in scheduled meetings with industry decision-makers at this year’s Farnborough Airshow, which takes place during a period of strong growth for the state’s aviation, aerospace and defense sectors.

Since 2020, aerospace companies have announced Alabama projects involving around $1 billion in new capital investment and the creation of 2,500 jobs, according to data from the Alabama Department of Commerce.

“The Farnborough Airshow mission is very important to us because aerospace is a economic engine for Alabama,” Secretary Canfield said. “We have a great heritage in aerospace, and the industry is very robust in terms of cutting-edge activities that take place in the state.

“It’s a strategic priority for us to sustain — and even accelerate — the growth in aerospace that we are seeing in Alabama,” he added.

Beginning this morning and stretching into Tuesday, Secretary Canfield will engage in scheduled appointments and informal discussions at Farnborough with high-ranking representatives from aerospace and aviation companies that could include Alabama in their future growth plans.

Today’s tentative appointment lineup includes a half-dozen aerospace and aviation companies with a presence in Alabama and meetings with others that currently do not. On the list: GE Aviation, United Launch Alliance, GKN Aerospace and other companies.

In a recent discussion, Secretary Canfield addressed his goals at Farnborough and shared his thoughts on growth prospects for Alabama’s aerospace industry.

How has Alabama’s aerospace industry evolved over the years?

“Alabama’s aerospace industry has come a long way. Our aerospace sector helped launch men to the Moon, and we’ve come a long way since that time.

“We’ve expanded the footprint of aerospace in Alabama to include not only space and missile defense platforms but also a growing commercial aviation footprint with the addition of Airbus into the mix. Today, Airbus’ Alabama operation includes the assembly of two important single-aisle aircraft — the A320 Family and the newest entrant, the A220.”

Are there solid growth opportunities for Alabama’s aerospace sector?

“Aerospace represents high-growth opportunities for Alabama, not only in capital investment but also in terms of job creation.

“The entire world of commercial aviation is changing. The pace of change is rapid as new technologies and green technologies are being developed, and we’re going to take advantage of that.

“The supply chain alone around aviation is going to be the real big opportunity for Alabama over the next five years.”

What specific opportunities for growth are you excited about?

“I think Alabama has a real good opportunity in research and product development. Airbus has seen great success with the engineering facility they have in Mobile, Alabama, which has designed some of the aircraft and the interiors that go into some of their commercial aircraft configurations. We’ve seen Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon also grow these types of jobs in Alabama.

“We see opportunities for the development of new technologies. Lockheed Martin has made significant investments in our state to develop the new technology around hypersonic missile defense systems.

“All that technology creates new opportunities for us for knowledge-based job creation and investment in Alabama.”

Why are the world’s most important aerospace companies attracted to Alabama?

“Alabama has been a very important state for many of the companies in aerospace and aviation because Alabama has developed high-level competencies.

“Engineering talent is one of those competencies. The engineering talent in Alabama that is centered around not only space exploration but also missile defense platforms, as well as commercial aircraft design and product development, is really the factor that creates the attraction for companies and makes them want to land here and stay here.”

Will space remain important to this industry in Alabama?

“I think the opportunities in space exploration are limitless. We have seen space exploration, over the last 10 years, take on the new dynamic of private investment and privately owned companies that are entering into not only the commercial space but also partnering with NASA.

“Mankind has always had a yearning to know what’s out there, and I think that desire is only going to continue to grow. The Earth is a small planet, and we are going to have to stretch beyond the boundaries of Earth over time. It may be decades, it may be hundreds of years, but eventually space is going to be the next frontier for us.

“And Alabama will definitely play a role in that frontier.”