Economic Development News

Aerospace officials with interests on the Treasure Coast held a private traveling session Tuesday to discuss with U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, how they can work together in the future.

Officials from the Boeing Co., Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Piper Aircraft Inc., along with a number of smaller, local businesses toured the Martin County facilities of TurboCombustor Technology Inc. and Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. They sat down to brainstorm ways to work with area agencies and schools to build an industry-wide talent pool.

Yancy Riddle, chief technology officer of Stuart-based UCT Coatings, a metal-finishing company, said it was important to get the what the Martin County Business Development Board called the Big 4 to see firsthand what is available locally.

"For the first time, aerospace (original equipment manufacturers) and suppliers in Florida have come together to work towards a common goal. There was instant networking and people found out what capabilities were available in their own backyards," Riddle said.

Ron Bunch, executive director of the Business Development Board, which helped set up the meeting, said the intent was to have the industries start to interact regarding existing efforts and map out ways to work together as the White House wants to privatize a lot of what is currently done by NASA.

"It's better to be involved in the discussion of where it is going than reading about it later," Bunch said.

President Obama's proposed budget would halt development of the Constellation program and require NASA to partner more with the commercial sector on developing quicker, cheaper means of putting astronauts in orbit.

Rooney was not immediately available for comment.

In Martin County, the aviation and aerospace industry accounts for approximately 600 workers with $32.5 million in wages, according to 2008 data from the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.