To grow Ohio’s considerable clout in the aerospace industry, the state’s leaders are looking north to Canada as an important source of trade partnerships.
The Canada-Ohio Aerospace Summit held last month in Cleveland attracted a large number of Canadian and Ohioan aerospace business leaders and government representatives. It was initiated by the
Ohio Aerospace Institute to help industry leaders get to know each other better with the hope of nourishing business relationships.
The two countries appear to be a good match for international aerospace trade, which is a $382 billion industry. Canada is the world’s fifth largest aerospace market with sales of roughly $22 billion annually. Ohio is the nation’s leader in propulsion and power technology with more than 1,200 companies 100,000 workers in the field.
“The event gave us the opportunity to highlight the potential for partnerships that could take place between businesses in Ohio and Canada in the aerospace trade,” says Patricia Grospiron, Director of Technology and Innovation Partnerships with OAI.
Grospiron also pointed to up-and-coming companies in Canada such as Bombardier in Montreal, an airplane manufacturer that is growing rapidly and challenging established leaders such as Boeing and France’s Airbus for international aircraft orders.
“Ohio is already a leader in supplying parts to airplane manufacturers such as Airbus,” says Grospiron. “Opportunities with companies such as Bombardier could help expand our businesses here.”
During the one and half day summit, at least 130 one-on-one business meetings took place between companies with synergistic profiles, says Grospiron.
Source: Patricia Grospiron
Writer: Val Prevish