Boeing Increases Business with Ohio Suppliers

Boeing Co. expects to increase its business with Ohio suppliers, which could make the state more prominent as an aerospace supplier to Boeing than it already is to the French manufacturer Airbus, a top Boeing executive said Wednesday.

Boeing already has about 500 suppliers in Ohio and has a substantial relationship with General Electric Co., whose GE Aviation jet engine business is headquartered in suburban Cincinnati, so Boeing’s procurement in the state should grow naturally, said Stan Deal, Boeing’s vice president and general manager of supply chain management and operations.

Deal was among an array of aviation industry and government executives who spoke at the Ohio Aerospace Jobs Summit and Technology Showcase. U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and the Ohio Aerospace and Aviation Council organized the one-day event hosted by GE Aviation, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of military and commercial jet engines. Officials from the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA and the Dayton Development Coalition were among the audience.

Boeing, with about 600 employees in the state, spends $4.8 billion annually on Ohio procurement, Deal said. Airbus was already spending $4.3 billion annually in the state by 2009.

Click here to read the entire article: