Florida sales take off at Singapore Air Show

While Florida aviation and aerospace parts suppliers as well as maintenance and repair companies expect to make millions in sales from their just-completed visit to the Singapore Air Show, this year’s financial outcome isn’t as high as in previous years.

The Singapore Air Show, which is held every second year, yielded an aggregate of about $32.5 million in sales for the Florida companies that attended – about $4.5 million in actual sales and another $28 million in expected sales – said Paul Mitchell, regional manager of international trade and development for aviation/aerospace and defense industries at Enterprise Florida Inc.

After the 2010 trip, 12 Florida companies reported a total of $35.5 million in expected sales and another $8.7 million in actual sales; and after the 2012 trip, the 12 Florida companies that attended reported an expected sales figure of $67.4 million, Mr. Mitchell said.

The expected and actual sales figures from this year’s Singapore Air Show will probably increase since five of the 22 companies that attended still have to report their numbers.

Another reason for the outcome difference is that this year many of the Florida companies that went to Singapore were there for the first time, so they hadn’t yet formed solid business relationships with buyers.

The six-day event in Singapore wasn’t only a way for state aviation and aerospace businesses to sign contracts, and sell their goods and repair services, but also a way for them to create long-term business relationships with the Asian market.

“Trust is so important in that region. It takes time for these companies to develop these sales channels,” Mr. Mitchell said. “A lot of the younger companies, this was their first time with us, so their numbers are going to be a little less.”

This year, five Miami-Dade County based companies attended, with two of them going to this particular air show for the first time, according to Enterprise Florida Inc.

Coral Gables-based AerSale, which sells and leases commercial aircrafts, and South Miami-Dade based Avionica Inc., which specializes in airborne and ground flight data and communications software, were the county’s two first-time participants, Mr. Mitchell said.

Miami-Dade County companies returning to the Singapore Air Show, according to Mr. Mitchell, were Hialeah-based Aero Kool Corp., which specializes in the overhaul and repair of aircraft airframes and engines; Doral-based Infinity Air Inc., an aviation-equipment supplier; and Miami Lakes-based Turbopower, which provides maintenance for military, commercial and corporate aircrafts.

Miami-Dade County is home to a growing aviation industry that contributes a total of 272,395 jobs, or one out of every 4.1 jobs in the county, Miami International Airport has reported.

MIA is an airline hub for American Airlines Inc.

“A majority of their flights from Latin American, for example, all come into Miami and then they fly out to other parts of the country. Miami International Airport is one of three hubs for American Airlines, and it has been one of their most profitable hubs,” said James C. Kohnstamm, vice president of economic development at the Beacon Council, the county’s economic development agency.

But, he added, the county’s aviation industry “goes beyond the airport.”

Other growing aviation sectors in the area include the overhaul, repair and maintenance industry. The county is home to three flight-training facilities and is “strategically located” to exceed in the aviation-parts supply market, Mr. Kohnstamm said.

“Aircraft parts are sourced from all over the world, so Miami is strategically located to be the perfect location to be the parts distribution center,” he said.

Boeing, Pan Am and Airbus have flight-training facilities in the county with Boeing’s county facility being the largest in its global network. The Beacon Council has estimated that just Boeing’s flight-training facility pumps about $10 million a year into the area from, among other things, amateur and professional pilots coming to the county to train.

“When American Airlines purchases a new aircraft and they purchase it from Boeing, there’s a very good chance that their pilots are going to come and train in Miami,” Mr. Kohnstamm said.

Enterprise Florida Inc., a public-private organization, periodically leads Florida companies as well as schools like Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to air shows similar to the one in Singapore. Last year, Enterprise Florida led nearly 80 state aviation, aerospace and defense companies to the Paris Air Show. The organization is now preparing for the Farnborough Air Show 2014 to be held July in the UK.

Details on attending the Farnborough Air Show through Enterprise Florida: Paul Mitchell, (407) 956-5639 or pmitchell@eflorida.com.