Baldwin County Commissioners Chris Elliott and Tucker Dorsey may have recently spent some time in London, but catching the tourist sights wasn’t on their agenda.
What was on their agenda — …
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Baldwin County Commissioners Chris Elliott and Tucker Dorsey may have recently spent some time in London, but catching the tourist sights wasn’t on their agenda.
What was on their agenda — economic development opportunities from attending the Farnborough International Airshow.
There, the commissioners were able to meet with officials and leaders in the aerospace industry to talk about the amenities Baldwin County has to offer.
“We had some really good in-depth meetings,” Dorsey said. “Lee Lawson and the folks at the Economic Development Alliance have targeted a good number of companies and we’ve continued to keep Baldwin County in the conversation.”
Elliott echoed Dorsey’s claim that most of the officials they met with already knew about Baldwin County.
“It was a very productive show,” Elliott said. “There were lots of meetings with suppliers, but it is clear the aerospace industry in Europe knows where the Gulf Coast of Alabama is. We’re definitely on their radar.”
According to state economic development officials, Alabama’s aerospace industry is primed for growth as project activity heats up following a productive 2015, which brought in nearly $500 million in new capital investment for the sector.
Part of the drive in that sector has been from the Airbus manufacturing facility in Mobile, and as development there has ramped up, Baldwin County is poised to benefit from any expansion.
“We talked with several secondary and tertiary suppliers to Airbus about possibly locating some of their manufacturing and engineering firms here,” Elliott said. “As Airbus continues to ramp up their production to eight planes a month, that’s when their supply chain starts to stretch out and they’re looking at Baldwin County as a place to build. They’re coming — it’s not a matter of if, but when we will have advanced manufacturing coming to this county.”
Both Dorsey and Elliott said Baldwin County has a lot to offer these businesses.
“We have industrial sites in Bay Minette, Fairhope, Foley and Gulf Shores, not to mention the megasite,” Elliott said. “There are places countywide where these folks are anxious to locate their facilities. And the quality of life in Baldwin County plays in here, too. Our excellent education and existing aerospace jobs and suppliers like UTC help show that we know how to work with this industry.”
While some residents have criticized spending public funds to send officials to shows like this, Elliott said an overwhelming majority of their time in London was spent advocating for Baldwin County and bringing good paying jobs back home.
“My Fitbit alone will tell you the 11-12 miles a day we were walking,” Elliott said. “This is hard work meeting with high-level decision makers to try locating high paying jobs here in Baldwin County, and that doesn’t happen without those connections and discussions. We help them get to know us and this county because when they know where they’re going, they are much likely to come here.”
