For Immediate Release
August 17, 2006
CONTACT:
David Mace (802) 828-5229
AVIATION AND AEROSPACE FIRMS FORM
ASSOCIATION
Lt. Gov. Dubie spearheads effort to promote
industry sector
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. – Companies involved in aircraft manufacturing,
commercial airline travel, and civil aviation are banding together to help
advance the aerospace and aviation industry in Vermont.
The Vermont Aerospace and Aviation Association
(VAAA) held its first annual meeting and reception at the Heritage Flight
facility at the Burlington
International Airport
Thursday.
“This will help promote an important economic sector
in our state,” said Lt. Governor Brian Dubie, an airline pilot and former
aerospace engineer who helped spearhead the formation of the group.
“I’m very pleased by the response of the aerospace and aviation
industry members who have agreed to cooperate in this effort.”
About two dozen firms and organizations were on hand for the
inaugural event, including such Vermont
powerhouses as General Electric of Rutland, Vergennes-based Goodrich, and local
firm General Dynamics.
Dubie said the VAAA would help educate the public and
policy makers about the importance of aviation to Vermont, especially as an economic sector,
and encourage young people to study math and science and enter the field.
“These companies provide the kind of jobs that Governor
Douglas is working hard to create and retain,” Dubie said. "And they are the kind of jobs that
the next generation of Vermonters will want to stay and fill."
“The aerospace and aviation industry is an important
part of Vermont’s
economy,” said Kevin Dorn, Secretary of the Agency of Commerce and
Community Development. “One airline industry trade group estimates that
commercial aviation in Vermont
impacts some 27,268 jobs and helps generate nearly $2 billion in economic
activity.”
In addition to the economic impact of Vermont’s airports and tourism-related
travel, Dorn noted that both large and small businesses did business in the
aerospace sector.
“For example, Boeing has 27 suppliers in Vermont who account for
$35 million in annual sales to the company,” he said.
A 2001 study by the Commission on the Future of the United
States Aerospace Industry said 60 aviation and aerospace firms in Vermont employed 3,100
jobs at (1,700 in aircraft manufacturing and 1,400 in air transportation) with a
total payroll of $137 million.
The guest of honor, Major Tad Clark
of the United States Air Force's Thunderbirds precision flying team, which will
be performing at the Wings Over Vermont airshow this weekend, said one of his
group's goals was much the same as Dubie's.
"We hope to inspire a younger
generation," Clark said. "When that happens, we'll have individuals who will
design a better stealth technology to protect combat aircraft, design a more
fuel-efficient jet engine, or come up with a safer design for air
travel."
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