New Hampshire Aerospace Consortium Launched

A relatively new consortium that aims to unite the estimated 300 New Hampshire companies in the aerospace and defense sectors is getting off the ground and hoping to help those businesses boost their chances of breaking into overseas markets, the New Hampshire Business Review reports.

 

The New Hampshire Aerospace and Defense Consortium, or NHADEC, had its public launch at the 11th annual Governor's Advanced Manufacturing & High Technology Summit in Manchester. About 230 people attended the conference, which among other topics, focused on efforts to shed the stigma of manufacturing being seen as dirty, low-paying work.

 

Helping New Hampshire businesses that operate in the aerospace and defense sectors to collaborate and share resources and knowledge is the goal of the consortium, which was initially funded by a federal State Trade and Export Promotion grant.

 

While the state International Trade Resource Center took the reins of getting it off the ground, the goal is for the consortium – which already has 70 members – to operate as an independent nonprofit.

 

The average wage for jobs in the aerospace and defense industries in New Hampshire is the fifth-highest in the country, generating an annual payroll of $653 million.

 

More details are viewable here.