Aerospace partners gather for Oklahoma summit

• June 03, 2010
  
  
  BY SUSAN SIMPSON, Oklahoman 
  Aerospace industry leaders Wednesday said “the sky is the limit” for the state’s aerospace industry but acknowledged some challenges for operations here.

  And as they discussed the future, they touted the industry’s impact on the state at the Oklahoma Aerospace Summit.

  With more than 400 aerospace-related companies in Oklahoma, the industry employs more than 143,000 people with a $5 billion dollar annual payroll. Aerospace accounts for nearly $12 billion worth of industrial output or 10 percent of the state economy. The largest sector of work is in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of the world’s aging fleets.

  The American Airlinesmaintenance and engineering center in Tulsa is the world’s largest MRO, employing about 7,000 Oklahomans, said Jim Fram, vice president of economic development for the Tulsa Metro Chamber. Tinker Air Force Base is the largest military repair site and the state’s largest single-site employer with about 26,000 workers.

  “We’ve seen investment in the aerospace industry pay huge dividends to this community,” said Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett.

  Still, keeping the industry as an economic driver will take continued work on the part of aerospace companies and employers, speakers said. Aging fleets, energy costs and supply chain problems all threaten the industry here. The average age of the Air Force fleet is 42-years-old, said Debra Tune, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics.

  While that may mean more work for Tinker Air Force Base, it’s not sustainable, she said.

  “We cannot continue to focus the largest portion of our budget on sustainment,” she stressed.

  The Air Force aims to cut aviation fuel consumption by 10 percent within 5 years, and is looking at fuel-saving practices and simulator training used by commercial carriers.

  “We simply cannot do business the way we’ve always done it,” Tune said. “We have to find innovative ways to cut costs.”

  Supply chain problems also undermine aerospace work in Oklahoma, said Maj. Gen. David Gillett, commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base.

  “We have the most complex supply chain imaginable,” he said. “Twenty-five percent of the time a mechanic goes to do a job, the material isn’t there to do that job.”

  Gillett asked industry partners for help.

  The Oklahoma Aerospace Summit continues today at the Cox Convention Center. It is the ninth year for the summit, which represents military, commercial, business and general aviation and unmanned aerial systems and spacecraft.

  The summit is sponsored by the Oklahoma Aerospace Alliance.
  Read more: http://newsok.com/state-urged-to-protect-its-role-in-aerospace/article/3465618#ixzz0qvoJRhZV