PARIS — The Alabama business recruitment team at the 2023 Paris Air Show began a second day of appointments with aerospace companies this morning in the intensely competitive environment of the industry’s key trade event this year.

No fewer than 15 other states are manning exhibition booths in the air show’s U.S. Pavilion, including Southern competitors Florida, South Carolina and Mississippi, along with others including Washington, Kansas and Ohio.

Large U.S. cities with aerospace/aviation clusters such as Seattle, Wichita and Little Rock are also represented, as well as foreign countries and regions including Umbria, Italy, and Québec, Canada.

Bob Smith, the Alabama Department of Commerce’s aerospace specialist, said the state’s team is up to the challenge.

“We had a full slate of appointments with a range of aerospace companies on Monday, and today we’ll be renewing some relationships with companies already in the state and building bridges with companies that we’d like to see locate in the state,” Smith said.

“We’ve had a productive time in Paris, uncovered a few leads and learned a lot,” Smith said. “Workforce remains a prevailing issue for the industry. Everyone we talked to asked about that — and that’s important to know.”

Smith said the European air shows at Paris and at Farnborough near London represent important business events for the state because having a profile at the events helps to elevate Alabama’s aerospace industry.

This year’s installment of the Paris Air Show is the first since 2019. That year, the event attracted nearly 140,000 professionals and 2,400 exhibitors from 49 countries in over 1.3 million square feet of exhibition space

An estimated $140 billion in industry orders were announced during the show that year.