Alabama team wraps up mission to 2023 Paris Air Show with prospects for future growth

Published On: 06.23.23 |

By: Jerry Underwood

Alabama team wraps up mission to 2023 Paris Air Show with prospects for future growth

Christoph Dörr, left, director of the Alabama Department of Commerce's European office, holds a meeting at the Made in Alabama booth during the 2023 Paris Air show. (contributed)

The Alabama Department of Commerce team wrapped up its mission to the 2023 Paris Air Show this week after gaining strategic insights into the dynamic trends reshaping the aerospace industry and uncovering potential new growth projects that could bring investment and jobs back home.

Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said he and his team engaged in at least 15 meetings with aerospace companies in Paris, most of them scheduled before the event. In addition, the team took part in several informal and impromptu meetings with industry officials.

He said the air show team uncovered a half-dozen prospects for growth projects as well as additional chances to develop industry partnerships.

“Thanks to these meetings, we identified potential projects ranging from new additive manufacturing advanced materials processing to new electrical wiring harness production,” Canfield said.

“Overall, we identified two possible expansion opportunities and three possible projects from companies that would be new entrants to Alabama,” he said.

In addition, the team identified a possible strategic alignment for Alabama’s Robotics Technology Park in advanced laser applications and discussed a planned visit by the Swiss Aerospace Cluster, which is set to take place in north Alabama in late August.

“Armed with what we learned in Paris, we’re going to be able to better position Alabama for aerospace industry growth, not just now but also five or 10 years down the road,” Canfield said. “Our aerospace/aviation/defense sector has registered solid growth in the past few years and it’s critical that we keep that momentum going.

“Our mission to the 2023 Paris Air Show will help us strengthen industry growth well into the future,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (second from right), visits Commerce Secretary Canfield and the Alabama team at the “Made in Alabama” booth at the 2023 Paris Air Show. (contributed)

Bob Smith, the Department of Commerce’s aerospace industry specialist and a veteran of many European air shows, said the Alabama team heard from industry executives that workforce remains a key concern for many companies.

Also, the war in Ukraine and simmering global tensions have elevated activity in the defense sector — a definite opportunity for Alabama, where the biggest defense companies have major operations.

“Defense was much more focused this year, particularly with new products like hypersonics and precision munitions,” Smith said. “We have many companies in Alabama working in these spaces, and it was helpful to understand their strategy going forward and how that fits with Alabama.”

This trend is poised to add muscle to the defense sector in Alabama, where total defense spending reached $16 billion in 2019, according to an analysis by the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Aerospace’s future

Smith said it was important to get a better understanding of developing trends that could dictate the future course of the aerospace industry.

“The Paris Air Show, after a four-year hiatus, had a definite new twist in 2023,” he said. “Many displays in the past with exotic propulsion systems and radical designs are now starting to feel more mainstream. Electric vertical takeoff and landing prototypes were around every corner at the show.

“At the same time, the airlines and the manufacturers are all hyper-focused on achieving a sustainable fuel solution for the industry,” Smith said. “The models and prototypes we used to think of as ‘Star Wars’-type designs are looking much more mainstream today — and that includes drones, especially on the defense side.”

The Commerce team’s overarching objective at the air show was to build on the $3.6 billion in new capital investment made by the industry in Alabama growth projects since 2016, which generated more than 8,300 job commitments, according to the department’s data.

In addition to the Commerce team, Alabama cities and regions were represented at the event, including Huntsville, Mobile, the Birmingham region, Decatur, Montgomery and Auburn/Opelika.

Electric vertical take-off and landing prototypes were a hit at the 2023 Paris Air Show. (contributed)

Building relationships

For economic development specialists from the state’s cities and regions, the 2023 Paris Air Show represented a valuable chance to connect with industry decision-makers.

David Russell, a partner with the Birmingham Business Alliance, said attending the event revealed the aerospace opportunities that are available and underscored for him the importance of developing and nurturing industry relationships.

“So, by coming here and building on those relationships, I realize that over time something can happen,” Russell said. “I’m really just trying to tell Birmingham’s story, to let people know that Birmingham does have more — more opportunity, more advantages, more talent.

“We want to let people know that Birmingham is open for business, and the only way we’re going to do that is to be here and have those face-to-face conversations,” he said.

This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.