State of Georgia welcomes largest civil aviation show in U.S.

ATLANTA, Oct. 19, 2010—Governor Sonny Perdue today welcomed to Georgia the world's largest trade show for the civil aviation industry. The Governor addressed conference attendees during the opening session of the National Business Aviation Association's annual conference, held this year in Atlanta Oct. 19-21.

'We certainly understand the value of business aviation in Georgia,' said Governor Perdue. 'Besides the fact that many of our small- and medium-sized companies use this kind of transportation to reach their destinations around the state quickly and efficiently, business aviation is a significant segment of our aviation industry here.'

Governor Perdue was named the recipient of the NBAA's 2010 American Spirit Award at the convention. The award is presented in recognition of an individual who exemplifies the service, courage and pursuit of excellence in support of business aviation that characterizes the men and women who created and advanced the American aviation community. The Governor was presented the award during this morning's opening general session of the convention, which draws 25,000 aviation professionals and enthusiasts from across the world to the Georgia World Congress Center.

The NBAA's 63rd Annual Meeting & Convention, sponsored in part by the State of Georgia, includes around 1,000 exhibitors, more than 100 educational sessions and a display of 90-plus aircraft at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. The event is the fourth largest trade show in the United States and the world's largest purely-civil aviation trade show.

A number of partners are collaborating to showcase Georgia's assets in this industry at the convention. Among them are economic development organizations from Macon, Coweta County, Upson County, Dodge County, Carroll County, Dougherty County and Rome. In addition, the cities of Brunswick, College Park and Savannah are participating, along with Georgia Power, Georgia EMC and Electric Cities of Georgia.

Growing its aerospace/aviation industry is an area of focus for Georgia. The state ranks eighth among U.S. states for aviation industry employment, with over 80,000 employees in more than 500 operations. Gulfstream's global headquarters is located in Savannah, and industry giants like Boeing, Cessna, Gulfstream, Lockheed Martin, Maule, Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon, Tiger, Thrush and Vought are just a few of the aviation companies with major manufacturing operations in Georgia. Georgia's total aviation exports worldwide topped $3.4 billion in 2009, ranking the state as the eighth-highest U.S. state in this sector.

Georgia is the most productive aerospace state in the U.S., according to www.economy.com. Costs for infrastructure like land, utilities and wages are low but yield highly valuable aerospace products. For each aerospace worker employed in the state, an average of $135,437 in wealth is created.   The state of Georgia has a ready pool of workers for the aerospace industry, thanks in part to FAA-certified degrees at its technical colleges and the Georgia Institute of Technology's graduate aerospace engineering program, ranked second in the country. Middle Georgia College's Aviation Campus in Eastman also offers four-year degrees in aerospace and aviation.

The Governor's Office of Work Force Development has invested over $1 million to build the aerospace sector workforce supply chain. Georgia Quick Start, the state's top-ranked, free workforce training service program, provides specialized training to aerospace/aviation companies like Boeing and Cessna. Georgia companies looking for industry expertise and university research are connected to both by Georgia's Center of Innovation (COI) for Aerospace, led by business-savvy industry veterans and supported by the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Georgia has accelerated its outreach to the aviation industry recently through participation in both the Dubai Air Show and the Farnborough Airshow.

Founded in 1947 and based in Washington, DC, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is the leading organization for companies that rely on general aviation aircraft to help make their businesses more efficient, productive and successful. The Association represents more than 8,000 member companies of all sizes and located across the country. NBAA provides more than 100 products and services to the business aviation community, including the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention, the world's largest civil aviation trade show.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.