Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Florida businesses sell in excess of $10 million at Farnborough International Airshow

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Gov. Rick Scott announced the mission to the Farnborough International Airshow resulted in $10.5 in actual sales and $73.2 million in projected export sales, as reported by the 11 small businesses and organizations that attended from Florida. The reported $83.7 in total projected sales are the second-highest since Enterprise Florida began attending the show 20 years ago.

Gov. Scott said, “During the Farnborough Air Show this summer, I was proud to announce 1,200 new jobs in Florida in the aerospace and aviation industries. It is exciting that so many Florida companies had great success at the Air Show. Florida is known as a leader in the aerospace and aviation industries and we will keep working to attract more companies to our state.”

During his mission to Farnborough, Gov. Scott also announced that a total of 1,200 jobs will be created in Florida:

  • Thales, a global technology leader for the aerospace, transport, defense and security markets, will add 327 jobs in Melbourne and 173 jobs in Orlando.
  • HAECO Americas, an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service company, will add 400 jobs in Columbia County.
  • Lockheed Martin, a global security and aerospace company, plans to expand its Astrotech Space Operations site on the Space Coast, creating up to 300 jobs.
  • JetSmarter, a mobile app-based private jet service, is expanding and creating new jobs at their headquarters Fort Lauderdale.

The airshow, held from July 11-15 in London, is one of the largest aviation exhibitions in the world, with approximately 1,500 exhibiting companies from nearly 50 countries and more than 107,000 trade visitors from around the world.

Manny Mencia, Senior Vice President of International Trade and Development for Enterprise Florida said, “The Farnborough International Airshow continues to provide huge opportunities and contacts for our small and mid-size exporters. The state is a global player in the aviation and aerospace industry, and our success at Farnborough perfectly illustrates that fact. Congratulations to the companies and organizations that were with us in the Florida Pavilion!”

The Florida Pavilion was again the largest of any U.S. state in attendance. In total, 11 exhibitors from various industry segments like MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul), engineering, education, airport/ground equipment, aircraft component manufacturing, and pneumatic tools attended the show.

Of the 11 Florida exhibitors, four were new to show companies who were awarded a Target Sector Trade Grant. Without the assistance of EFI’s International Trade and Development efforts, many of the companies would not be able to attend and, without the pavilion, would not be as successful and efficient in reaching such a large audience.

Vice President of Defense and Aerospace for AAMSI, David Clark, said, “Enterprise Florida’s efforts are most appreciated. Our process was smooth and our booth was prepared for our arrival. Marketing and promotion of the Florida group was very good and having the Governor open the pavilion was fantastic. We look forward to working closely with the group again and have been working with Enterprise Florida since inception. We highly recommend EFI and these shows to other Florida small businesses.”

William Bryson, Director of Business Development for Honeycomb Co. of America in Sarasota, said, “The Target Sector Trade Grant from Enterprise Florida allowed us to participate as an exhibitor at Farnborough. We renewed many prior business relationships that will lead to business and more opportunities in 2017. It was a great location for the booth and booth design is far superior to other state pavilions. We had excellent support from all Enterprise Florida staff before, during and after the show.” 

Vice President of Sales for Breezer Holdings in Deerfield Beach, Joe Fairleigh, said, “It has been a great pleasure to work with Enterprise Florida. The level of service provided pre-show and also during the show was outstanding. The booth selection was excellent. We look forward to working together closer in the areas of lead generation and business facilitation.”

The participating Florida companies included:

International trade and foreign direct investment accounted for about one-sixth of the state's economic output last year and supports an estimated one million jobs. Florida has the highest trade surplus among all states, with total trade exports plus imports reaching $147.4 billion last year. Florida has a number of strengths to leverage, including one of the fastest-growing international economies, strong air and seaport infrastructure, and a large and well-qualified multicultural workforce. Learn more about Enterprise Florida’s export assistance programs.

Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida’s businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for Florida. EFI facilitates job growth through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses. EFI launched “Florida – The Future is Here” to promote the state as the nation’s premier business destination.