MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley is traveling back to Alabama today after two long days of back-to-back meetings at the Paris Air Show. The Governor held meetings with 24 aerospace industry companies in Paris and leaves with new relationships and several leads on potential aerospace projects and expansions for the state.
“The most important thing we’re doing here is recruiting jobs,” Governor Bentley said Tuesday night in an address to Alabama economic development leaders and international aerospace companies at a reception hosted by the delegation from Mobile.
Work continues toward the goal of job recruitment in Paris as Bentley returns home. Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield and Assistant Director of Business Development for the Department of Commerce Bob Smith had several additional exploratory meetings and follow up meetings scheduled for Wednesday.
The first half of Wednesday included meetings with companies representing potential suppliers for Airbus’s final assembly line in Mobile and discussions with representatives of other countries with a similar industry base as Alabama.
“We’re also meeting with consultants in the industry who are providing us an individualized overview of opportunities and challenges within the aerospace sector to assist the department of Commerce in the implementation of its strategic plan,” Canfield said.
Hear more from Bentley’s address at his final event in Paris:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HbMlO0-kCcc]
