Fourth Manufactured in Vermont Supply Chain Conference and Show : A Even Bigger Success.

 

MONTRÉAL – Words count: 891 – Reading time:  6 minutes.  For its fourth edition held on Wednesday, September the 27th from 9am to 5pm at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, a few miles south of Burlington, the Manufactured in Vermont Supply Chain Conference and Show organized by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce has drawn more exhibitors and visitors than ever.

This year, the event has drawn its biggest turnout since its inception four years ago with more than 700 registered attendees.

The Manufactured in Vermont Supply Chain Conference and Show is a business-to-business event for manufacturers, OEMs and sub-contractors to connect and develop business for contracts and enhanced supply chain opportunities. Its vision is to strengthen and grow our manufacturing base for competitive advantage here at home and abroad. Its mission is to showcase the manufacturing sector as a significant driver of the Vermont economy both as an employer and producer of goods, create a niche network that connects industry peers and facilitate both sourcing and procurement opportunities for innovative, stronger, and nimble supply chains in Vermont, throughout New England, and with Canada.

The Vermont Chamber of Commerce, the largest statewide, private, not-for-profit business organization, connected 90 manufacturers with 20 larger, out-of-state companies that may be willing to buy their products.

The Vermont Chamber also hosted 23 Canadian companies in support of its work to build a U.S.-Canadian Aerospace Corridor, linking Vermont’s $2 billion aerospace and aviation cluster with a $28 billion Canadian aerospace industry for cross-border contacts and contracts. This is part of the vision of the Memo of Understanding between the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Aero Montréal signed in 2013 at Forum Innovation Aérospatiale in Montréal. The vision and mission of the MOU and partnership is to create a U.S. – Canadian Aerospace Corridor via Vermont and facilitate the flow of supply chain opportunities between Vermont’s aerospace and aviation industry and Canada’s Aerospace Industry. The $28 billion Canadian aerospace industry is the fifth largest in the world and is home to aerospace OEMs and prime contractors, including Bombardier, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Bell Helicopter Textron, CAE, GE Canada and Heroux-Devtek. Most Canadian companies source over 50% of their aerospace parts from the U.S..

For its part, Vermont is home to a thriving $2 billion a year aerospace and aviation industry. According to the Economic Impact of Civil Aviation by State study done by the FAA in January of 2015, the economic impact of civil aviation alone for the state of Vermont includes: $1.1 billion in economic output, $316 million in earnings and 11,081 jobs.

In 2019, the Vermont Air National Guard will be the first ANG unit to fly the fifth-generation fighter Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II from the Burlington International Airport (BTV) replacing current Lockheed Martin F-16A/B Fighting Falcon..

The Green Mountain State is also home to industry leaders, such as GE Aviation and UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS), and an established, world-class supplier base of over 250 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with capabilities in the areas of:

Aerospace design & engineering, aeromedical equipment, aircraft structures and sub-assemblies, aircraft airframes and engines, advanced ceramics, avionics, composites, electronics and electrical systems, fixtures and gages, fuel measurement, landing gears, plastics and polymers, precision machining, maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO), sensors & sensing systems, turbomachinery, and wire and cable assembly.

World class primes from Airbus, Bell Helicopter, BAE Systems, Boeing, Bombardier, GE Aviation, and Lockheed Martin to Pratt & Whitney, Northrop Grumman, Robinson and Sikorsky rely on Vermont’s manufacturers to design, build and deliver the finest quality products with innovation, speed to market and competitive advantage. The Boeing Company, for example, has 23 suppliers and vendors based in Vermont representing an $88.1 million spend and supporting an estimated 2,800 direct and indirect jobs.

During this year Manufactured in Vermont Supply Chain Conference and Show, more than 400 B2B/2GO pre-scheduled matchmaking meetings tooks place with out-of-state OEM and prime contractors in the aerospace and defense sectors :

Airbus

Bell Helicopter

Boeing

CAE

GE Aviation

General Services Administration (GSA)

GlobalFoundries

Kaman Aerospace

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems

Sikorsky, A Lockheed Martin Company

U.S. Small Business Administration Procurement Center

UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS)

Among the 100 companies and government agencies, attending this year Conference and Show, 23 from Québec, up from 15 last year involved in aerospace were exhibiting or attending lead by AéroMontréal, Charlotte Laramé, Project manager, market development SME / Supply Chain.

The following had a both on the exhibition floor:

A.T.L.A.S. Aéronautik

A7 Intégration

AeroParts Plus

C-MAC Microcircuits

Consulate General of Canada in New England

Creaform

Creopak

Granby Industriel

Laxson GPS

Mecanica Solutions

Merkur

Thermetco

Zen Metal Technologies

The aerospace luncheon featured as speaker Kellie Lish, Senior Manager Supply Chain Strategy, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group and 135 participants from US and Canadian aerospace including the commanding officer of the Vermont Air National Guard, Chris Carrigan, Vice President, Business Development, Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Brian Dubie, former American Airlines Captain and Vt ANG fighter pilot and founder of the Vermont Chamber’s Aerospace & Aviation Association as well as staff members from US Senator Bernie Sanders office. Madam Lish 20 minutes presentation focused on Boeing Supply Chain in order to explain to potential suppliers, the goals and the rules guiding the world largest aerospace company.

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