Report from the Paris Air Show
The EDC made a conscious decision to prioritize our region’s
aerospace cluster during 2013. Western Massachusetts is a key link along the
aerospace supply chain that follows I-91 from Connecticut through Massachusetts
and Vermont and continues north to Montreal. We call the Hartford CT –
Springfield MA section of that corridor New England’s Knowledge Corridor©, but
the entire corridor is legitimately Aerospace Corridor.
One of our tactics was to organize a presence for
Massachusetts companies at the Paris Air Show. The EDC organized meetings with
global OEM’s and B2B opportunities with international aerospace clusters for
the three Western Mass firms that exhibited in the Massachusetts stand in the
US pavilion. We also joined with our partners from the Hartford-Springfield
Economic Partnership and the State of Connecticut to meet over 20 European and
Israeli aerospace and defense firms about investment, partnering and supply
chain opportunities in the Knowledge Corridor. We expect follow-up visits from
approximately ten of the firms over the next few quarters.
We are talking to aerospace and economic development
officials along our Aerospace Corridor to enhance cooperation, sales and supply
chain connections for the firms. We have invited European clusters and firms
looking for US market entry to visit our region on trade missions or individual
visitation programs including OEM – SME matchmaking. Please contact Mike Graney
at the EDC, m.graney@westernmassedc.com
or 413-755-1300, for more information about the aerospace sector in our region.
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