PARIS – Greg Canfield, Alabama’s lead economic developer, said the first day of appointments for the state’s recruiting team at the 2017 Paris Air Show produced leads on possible aerospace projects that could mean jobs at home. Another full round of meetings is scheduled for today.
Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, is joining Governor Kay Ivey and other economic development specialists from around the state at Le Bourget airport near Paris for the industry’s most closely watched trade show.
“Today looks like it’s going to be another good day. We’ve got 12 appointments – this is like speed dating, with more substance,” he said. “We’ll have the chance to meet with and connect with some companies that have existing operations in Alabama and some new companies that we haven’t really talked to much in the past.
“We think we’ll have some good news to report down the road.”
One of the first stops for Governor Ivey and Secretary Canfield today was Raytheon, which produces its SM-3 and SM-6 missiles at a state-of-the-art factory in Huntsville. Other aerospace companies on the team’s Day 2 schedule include Boeing, UTC, and Lockheed Martin.
These appointments follow a full first day for the Alabama team at the 2017 Paris Air Show, when Governor Ivey engaged in 10 meetings with companies and participated in a project announcement at the Made in Alabama booth.
Germany’s Winkelmann announced plans for a $12 million high-tech metals-forming factory in Auburn that will eventually create 50 jobs.
The Alabama team’s Monday appointments included Hutchinson Corp., a French company that announced plans at the 2015 Paris Air Show for a manufacturing facility in Mobile, and Doncasters, a U.K.-based metals machining firm with a facility in Oxford.
“There are two possible projects that have developed as a result of our meetings yesterday, so we’re excited about that,” Secretary Canfield said.
LEONARDO MEETING
Another appointment for Governor Ivey on Monday was Leonardo, the global aerospace company that has proposed assembling the U.S Air Force’s next-generation jet trainer in Tuskegee.
After the meeting, the governor and Leonardo’s leadership team went onto the tarmac at Le Bourget and got an up-close view of the company’s candidate in the Air Force contest, the T-100. She also got an opportunity to speak with an Air Force general who is heavily involved in the selection process.
“She impressed upon him her strong support for Leonardo’s selection of Alabama to provide the TX trainer for the Air Force,” Secretary Canfield said.
Joe Turnham, a strategic consultant for the Macon County Economic Development Authority, said he believes the meeting had positive effects.
“I think Leonardo is more positive about Alabama and more positive about their chances to win this competition and bring jobs to Alabama,” he said.
Turnham said the Leonardo project, which involved an investment topping $200 million, would be a game-changer for Tuskegee and Macon County. If Leonardo is selected, it will assemble, test and deliver the trainer aircraft at Moton Field, the historic home of the Tuskegee Airman in World War II.
“It would be 750 jobs, and it would have a ripple effect of 3,000 to 4,000 indirect jobs throughout the I-85 corridor and across Alabama,” Turnham said. “There are also key aerospace suppliers that are taking a cue from this and could establish operations in Alabama.”
