Washington state delegation at Paris Air Show celebrates MTorres move, joins Boeing to announce aerospace supplier summit return to Seattle

Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-2) and Washington state’s 51-person delegation at the 50th Anniversary International Paris Air Show today joined MTorres and Boeing in two announcements at the worldwide gathering of the aerospace industry held every two years in Le Bourget, near Paris, France.

MTorres, a privately-owned Spanish supplier of highly sophisticated automated equipment to the aerospace and paper industries, today announced that Pacific Engineering, Inc. will open a new assembly and integration facility in Everett, WA in July. Since acquiring Pacifica, a fast-growing Bothell-based aerospace tooling maker in 2012, the two companies have moved quickly to grow their competitive strength and add jobs in the booming global aerospace marketplace.

MTorres supplies both Boeing and EADS, the parent company of Airbus. The headquarters of MTorres USA North American operations is now in Bothell, adding to locations in Spain and Germany and growing their workforce to more than 550 employees.

They are the second Spanish company to announce expansion in Washington during the 2013 Paris Air Show. CARBURES, specializing in engineering and manufacture of carbon fiber composite structures with offices in the U.S., Europe and China, announced yesterday that it plans to expand in South King County by early next year.

“The assembly facility will provide further capability for design and build of tooling and machines in North America, giving Pacifica and MTorres customers a full turn-key solution to their needs,” said Scott Dean, President and General Manager of Pacifica. “We are embracing this opportunity for growth as we continue to face design, schedule and cost challenges within the aerospace market.”

Also today, the Washington State Department of Commerce joined Boeing in announcing the return of 2012’s highly successful Aerospace and Defense Supplier Summit in Seattle.

The second A&DSS for the commercial and military aviation supply chain will take place March 11-13, 2014 at the Seattle Convention Center. The debut event in 2012 sold out with 800 companies representing 30 countries participating in over 10,000 pre-scheduled meetings exchanging ideas and exploring potential partnerships. Sign up information is now available.

“The Department of Commerce is pleased to play a role in establishing this major international supplier event in the United States,” Commerce Director Brian Bonlender said. “We look forward to once again welcoming the world of aerospace to Washington state next spring for another productive summit.”

“There is tremendous opportunity in the aerospace market over the next 20 years and collaboration is the key,” said Kent Fissher, vice president and general manager of Supplier Management for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“This news today from MTorres and Boeing, as well as the daily reports from our delegation about increased attention on Washington state at the air show, add to our reputation as a global aerospace hub with a 100-year legacy of innovation in the industry,” said Gov. Jay Inslee. “The  high technology bar and tough competition we’re up against highlights the need to invest in STEM education, workforce training and transportation infrastructure. These investments are necessary if we want to capture current and future opportunities in aerospace and advanced manufacturing.”

Rep. Larsen, Bonlender and director of the Governor’s Office of Aerospace Alex Pietsch are leading the delegation of small and medium-sized businesses from the state’s broad aerospace supply chain, which now numbers some 1,256 related companies and more than 131,000 workers. Governor Inslee cancelled his trade mission plans to stay in Olympia and attend to the state’s budget impasse.

The 2013 Pair Air Show delegation is maintaining an aggressive schedule of approximately 500 face-to-face meetings with companies from all over the world to discuss business recruitment, procurement, expansion and foreign investment opportunities, Bonlender reported.

“Washington state is here in force, playing to win a global competition for aerospace work and jobs,” Rep. Larsen said. “It’s very clear after a few days here that we are not competing against South Carolina, Alabama and other U.S. states. We’re in this with other regions and countries around the globe. There’s plenty of growth and work to go around in the aerospace industry for the foreseeable future, and we’re competing hard for our fair share of those jobs and more.”

Governor Inslee’s Aerospace Industry Strategy, announced in May, provides a long-term plan to grow the aerospace cluster and prioritizes specific activities for 2013/2014, the most significant of these being winning the 777X and its carbon fiber wings.

The delegation also got a walk-around tour of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and participated in private business meetings with leaders of international aerospace and technology giants based in Europe and North America, all of whom have presence in Washington state.

Additionally, the Washington team met with a trade delegation from Nagoya, Japan and executives of GIFAS, the French aerospace industry organization.

Washington state has attended or exhibited at the past 14 International Paris Air Shows. This year’s delegation of 51 is the largest ever group of Washington leaders, educators and aerospace businesses. Companies in the 2011 delegation directly attribute $4.9 million in sales to deals and relationships forged at the air show.

More information about the Washington delegation’s Air Show activities is available at http://choosewashingtonstate.com/paris2013/ or by following #WAaero on Twitter and Choose Washington’s Paris Air Show blog.