The content was anything but. Lautman, principal of Lautman Economic Architecture and author of When the Boomers Bail (How Demographics will Sort Communities into Winners and Losers) told an audience of site selection professionals and economic development agency representatives that their entire industry is living on borrowed time. “The whole economic development game is running out of places to add value,” Lautman declared. “If you look at it honestly, our profession is in the process of going out of business.”

Lautman painted a stark and sobering picture of a barren economic development landscape in which an aging generation of Baby Boomers has failed to replicate itself in a way that ensures that economic growth will keep pace with population growth. “We are the first generation in history – maybe the first species in history – not to create enough children to replace ourselves, and we didn’t educate half of the kids we created,” he said.

According to Lautman, the emerging demographic “new normal,” coupled with long-term economic malaise and a federal government “that is out of business,” is creating a new paradigm that will force communities into a fierce competition for the same small pool of skilled workers. “You always want your most productive group of people to expand and your dependent class to shrink, but we’re going the other way. The Baby Boomers – the most over-experienced people – are bailing into the most dependant class as they retire, the same class we’ve dumped our kids into,” he said. “It’s a disaster.” [Lautman said the demographic outlook is even bleaker for China than the U.S. He predicted that an aging population in China soon will overwhelm the world's second-largest economic power and render it unable to take jobs from other markets. "China will flat-line by 2015," he said.]

This dynamic is having the biggest impact on what Lautman called “the hiring relationship.”

“In the past, the employers had all the power in the hiring relationship. Now (prospective) employees have all the power. When the Boomers entered the job market, there were 10 of us applying for every open position. Today, 10 companies will be chasing after the same young professional,” he explained, adding that in the new normal it won’t be unusual for employers “to have 95 percent of their job offers rejected.”

The seismic shift in demographics will “change the calculus for site selection and economic development,” Lautman said. “It will change the way businesses operate and chart their futures.”

The most important change will be the elevation of quality of life as a key factor in site selection decisions, he said. “Employers must be really careful about where they locate their facilities. They have to make sure where they locate is where the employees want to live,” Lautman said. “What is the DNA that makes those places attractive to (young professionals)? That’s the new game – talent attraction.”

“Employers are going to come to your communities because of who’s coming there and who wants to stay,” he added.

Lautman said economic developers also must rethink their approach to strategic planning and embrace regional strategies that avoid head-to-head competition for the same pool of skilled workers (he projected that it may cost more than $1 million to recruit just 10 prospects, forcing communities to pool resources). But he did not mince words in predicting that competition between communities inevitably will get nastier as the new demographic reality takes hold.

“You used to be able to grow your economy without hurting anyone else,” he said. “Today, the only way you can grow is by stealing (talented workers) from your competitors. You will need to be able to set up in places where you can steal talent from your competition, bring them there, set them up and not have them stolen back.”

Standard strategic planning models will have to be replaced with a more deliberative process that anticipates the new reality. “What we’re doing right now doesn’t work and it doesn’t involve the right people. It’s really a mess – there’s no one thing that works and no single way to approach it,” Lautman said. “We need design partnerships to understand the kind of community we have to build to attract talent.”

“It’s now a game of winners and losers, and it won’t take long to figure out who the winners are,” Lautman concluded.  “It’s either New Bedford Falls or Pottersville, there’s no in-between. It’s a zero-sum market now.”

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The FAA currently is evaluating six U.S. sites as potential test flight centers for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), also known as drones (the Wright-Patterson facility in Ohio is a leading contender). Most of our elected representatives in Washington are gung-ho for the idea, especially in districts with manufacturers who would thrive if the demand for “domestic” drones takes off. Thus far, they’ve been stymied by a handful of civil-liberties and air-safety fuddyduddys who wonder whether filling our skies with robot planes will fatally compromise our right to privacy, to say nothing of the occasional commercial airliner they may bump into.

While we’ve been watching the skies, it looks like the ground may have shifted under our feet.

The plans for mass-producing driverless cars aren’t even on the drawing boards of the major automakers, but a new survey shows that an astounding 60 percent of U.S. motorists are ready to welcome robot cars on American roads.

IT networking giant Cisco this week released the results of its study on the importance of high-tech gadgets to today’s car buyers. Not surprisingly, the Cisco survey found consumers completely enamored with the latest computer-driven automotive capabilities, from cars that park themselves to voice-activated menus for nearby Chinese restaurants.

But the real eyebrow-raiser in the survey was the response to Cisco’s question asking drivers whether they’re ready to trust driverless cars to drive them around.

The results are fascinating. Three nations with emerging automotive markets — and, presumably less experience with driving — gave driverless cars the biggest thumbs up. About 95 percent said yes in Brazil, 86 percent in India and 70 percent in China. They were followed by the U.S. at 60 percent, Russia at 57 percent and Canada at 52 percent.

But in Japan, the nation that has the most experience with robots of any kind, only 28 percent of respondents indicated they would be inclined to slide into the passenger seat of a driverless car. Also, when the risk-taking is expanded from the individual to the family, enthusiasm predictably declines for the driverless car. Fewer respondents in the Cisco survey said they were willing to put their kids in a robot vehicle.

The Cisco survey results may reflect the shape of things to come. Driverless cars probably will be tooling down a highway near you sooner than you think.

The psychological roadblock to the driverless vehicle apparently was shattered by the Google car. The Internet search giant’s robot test vehicle thus far has logged more than 300,000 miles without incident. Google says the technology for a true “fully autonomous driverless car” is still about five years away. Motor Trend, the car magazine, predicts that driverless cars will be in mass production by 2025.

The Cisco survey also revealed that consumers’ trust for automated vehicles extends beyond the steering wheel: the study found that 74 percent of drivers would be fine with their car tracking their driving habits if they could save on insurance and maintenance costs; 65 percent said they would be willing to share their height, weight, driving habits and entertainment preferences with car manufacturers in return for a more “custom” driving experience.

In the same week that Cisco’s survey results were released, the National Transportation Safety Board has proposed to lower the federal blood alcohol level threshold for drunk driving from .08 to .05, a drop of more than a third from the current standard.

Coincidence? We think not. Obviously, there’s some sort of a master plan falling into place here:

STEP 1: Track our movements with drones.

STEP 2: Take our car keys away.

STEP 3: Ply us with alcohol and entice us to recline in the ergonomically designed passenger seat of a driverless car that knows we can be lulled into a mindless sense of euphoria by the smell of Corinthian leather and the sound of Bohemian Rhapsody coming out of 16 speakers.

STEP 4: Deposit us at mass “rehabilitation” centers that have secretly been constructed on former ballistic missile launch sites in the Great Plains.

STEP 5:

(transmission interrupted, contact with human terminated)

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The move is recognized as a significant milestone in increasing the domestic control over important national security resources, since domestic manufacturing will ensure availability of these critical materials regardless of shifting global alliances. It will also provide 100% traceability and quality control to prevent contamination in the supply chain that would adversely affect the performance of the lithium ion cells.

The materials produced at this plant are used in anode (negative electrode) and cathode (positive electrode) fabrication. The particular chemistry of these materials ensures that satellite batteries can last for more than 10 years with more than 60,000 charge-discharge cycles, and it has never before been manufactured in the United States. Quallion has also built US Government funded facilities at its Sylmar, CA headquarters for the production of cathode materials and manufacturing of lithium ion cells for satellites.

Combined, these production facilities provide a vertically integrated manufacturing process for the domestic production of satellite batteries. This project expands Quallion’s satellite battery capabilities and can support further business and job growth in other market segments. Combined these projects will create over 50 jobs at a wide range of skill levels.

“The Quallion facility epitomizes the best attributes of public/private partnerships that establish domestic production sources that not only sustain our national defense capabilities but also create state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that are economically and technologically competitive in the world marketplace,” said Mark Buffler, Program Director, Defense Production Act.

“The Title III funded project has been critical in assisting Quallion’s business expansion from manufacturing lithium ion cells exclusively for high-technology medical applications to becoming a premier designer and supplier of lithium ion cells for aerospace and other military applications.,” said Jeff Goldberg, CEO of Quallion LLC.  “Quallion is proud to support the men and women of the US military with cutting edge technology to help ensure our country’s security.”

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Gov. Bentley

Like most of our friends from the Deep South, Gov. Robert Bentley speaks in a laid-back cadence that embraces a new acquaintance with neighborly warmth and welcomes a thoughtful conversation.

Folks who don’t know better might jump to the conclusion that an easy, deliberate pace also applies to the economic development strategy Gov. Bentley is implementing in Alabama. They better think again.

As Gov. Bentley detailed for us in an exclusive interview with Business Facilities, Alabama is moving full speed ahead with a dynamic growth strategy that is rapidly transforming the state into an economic powerhouse. Alabama is driving to the head of the class in jobs-rich sectors including automotive and aerospace.

Soon after Bentley took office in January 2011, he reorganized the state’s economic development structure and summarized its marching orders in one word: Accelerate.

“I believe in organization. When I came into office, Alabama was progressing, but I felt we needed more organizational structure to our economic development,” Gov. Bentley told BF. “So we created something called the Alabama Economic Development Alliance, which [executes] our strategic plan for the state—what we call Accelerate Alabama—concentrating on 11 major industries.”

“If you’re not organized, you’re not going to meet your goals quickly,” he added.

Bentley’s organization is not only meeting its goals, it’s exceeding everyone’s expectations, propelling Alabama into the top tier of the most dynamic state economies in the nation—the states that have unlimited growth potential.

The Accelerate Alabama plan aims to build on the state’s already solid foundation of manufacturing, forestry, chemicals and agriculture by targeting new growth sectors, including bioscience and information technology.

Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa

The development that literally put Alabama on the map as a major jobs producer took place two decades ago, when Mercedes-Benz decided in 1993 to locate its North American manufacturing hub in Tuscaloosa. Bentley hails Mercedes’ decision as a game-changer: the German automaker’s arrival opened the door for other industrial giants to come to Alabama. It also established the state as a front-runner in foreign direct investments and jump-started a torrent of exports from Alabama to the world.

“Had Mercedes not come to Alabama in 1993, we probably would not have had all these great international companies. When you talk to Mercedes, they will tell you that their best manufacturing plant in the world is at Tuscaloosa,” Bentley said. “Mercedes is a great cheerleader for Alabama.”

Airbus’ first U.S.-based production facility—which will build A320 Family jetliners at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, Alabama, beginning in 2015—will produce between 40 and 50 aircraft annually by 2018.

The loudest cheers since Mercedes-Benz arrived in Alabama came last year, when Airbus decided to put its first North American aircraft assembly facility in Mobile. Airbus will use the facility at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile to assemble its A319, A320, and A321 aircraft. The project represents a $600-million investment that will create up to 1,000 jobs when the plant reaches full capacity; building the facility will create nearly 3,200 construction-related jobs over a three-year period.

The Airbus plant is expected to anchor a huge expansion in Alabama’s already thriving aerospace sector and may move the center of gravity for this industry in the state from Huntsville—ground zero of NASA’s legendary rocket program (including the Saturn V that carried men to the moon)—down to Mobile.

A supplier network already is queuing up to put down roots in Alabama to service Airbus. A subsidiary of Labinal, Safran Engineering Services, announced in December that it will operate an engineering supporting facility in Mobile, creating up to 50 jobs. Labinal is part of the French aerospace conglomerate, Safran Group. Gov. Bentley met with Labinal officials during a visit to the Farnborough International Air Show in England last year and encouraged the company to locate in Alabama.

Gov. Bentley is moving quickly to make sure that neighboring states eagerly eyeing the aerospace bonanza in Alabama don’t gain an edge in pulling the Airbus supplier network across their borders.

After Mississippi and Florida passed tort reform measures shielding aircraft manufacturers from long-term liability complaints, Bentley quickly put forward the Alabama Commercial Aviation Business Improvement Act, a tort reform tailored to companies like Airbus that make commercial jets seating more than 100 passengers.

“We put $158 million into bringing Airbus into the state, and while the 1,000 [permanent] jobs are very important, it’s the suppliers who will keep bringing jobs to the state,” Bentley explained. “We wanted to do everything we could to make sure there is a level playing field and these suppliers come to Alabama.”

Alabama Becomes An Automotive Superpower

Mercedes-Benz’s long-term commitment to Alabama was followed by a parade of auto giants who have vaulted the state into the top five in U.S. automotive production, with 880,000 vehicles produced in 2012. Hyundai, Honda, and Toyota have major automotive production facilities in Alabama, all of which are in the process of expanding.

“When you see companies like Mercedes adding new lines [the company will produce its fifth new model in Tuscaloosa this year], when you see Hyundai put a third shift in, adding 800 new jobs, and when you see the level of automation at the plants, you know that we’re producing the high-quality vehicles here in Alabama,” Bentley told BF.

Gov. Bentley knows that world-class manufacturers need a highly skilled workforce, and he has made sure that workforce training programs are up to the task in Alabama.

“The Alabama Industrial Development Training [AIDT] program is one of the best workforce training programs for companies. They will come in and put a training facility on-site to train the workers,” said Bentley. “We have a maritime training program that includes a ship-building training site in Mobile and we’re building a training facility on-site for Airbus. We have one at the engine factory in Huntsville and at all the automotive plants.”

Earlier this year, the state signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz that recognizes Shelton State Community College as one of the best in its field in preparing individuals for careers in manufacturing. Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. (MBUSI) and AIDT formalized a $1.6-million contract for Shelton to support MBUSI’s technical programs. The initiative will be funded through AIDT’s Workforce Development program.

“We’ve had resounding success with our Automotive Technician and Mechatronics programs over the past year,” said Markus Schaefer, president and CEO of MBUSI. “Today, more than 100 candidates have enrolled in the program, which has been recognized in Alabama, nationally and globally as a model in the arena of workforce development. Shelton State and AIDT have been critical in the success of these efforts.”

Shelton will use the largest portion of the funds ($1.2 million) to buy equipment that will be housed on campus to train students in robotics, electrical and other high-tech skills required in manufacturing. The remainder of the funds will be used to support students with tuition, fees other program expenses.

FDI, Exports Surge In AL

The migration of overseas manufacturers to Alabama goes well beyond Mercedes-Benz and Airbus. About 70 German companies have set up shop in the state, including industrial giant ThyssenKrupp, which is building a new steel plant near Mobile.

Gov. Bentley has headed trade missions to Germany three times in the past two years; Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield also is a frequent flyer to Europe seeking to draw new business to the state.

Gov. Bentley also has the Far East on his radar. He is actively courting business in Japan, South Korea and China, most recently convincing Golden Dragon Copper Tubing to set up its first U.S. operation in Alabama. Bentley pushed through special legislation to mitigate U.S. tariffs imposed on copper tubing. He also was able to get the Chinese company to put the plant in the part of the state with the highest unemployment.

“That’s up to 500 new jobs for that area. It’s going to improve the situation and we’re very excited about it,” the governor said. [On his official Twitter feed, Gov. Bentley has pledged that he will not accept a salary as governor until Alabama achieves “full employment.”]

Bentley noted that Alabama’s status as a right-to-work state meets a prerequisite of a majority of Asian companies. “European companies don’t say it as much, but there’s no doubt that Asian companies want to go to a right-to-work state,” he said.

Governor Robert Bentley standing with recipients of the Governor’s Trade Excellence Awards in the Old House Chamber at the Alabama State Capitol.

Gov. Bentley has made increasing Alabama’s exports a top priority of the state’s long-term economic development plan, and the results have been impressive. Alabama has achieved a record $19.5 billion in exports during his tenure. The governor goes out of his way to throw his spotlight on successful Alabama exporters. He recently presented Governor’s Trade Excellence Awards to eight Alabama companies that have expanded exports this year. Bentley also meets regularly with the consulate from Canada, Alabama’s top export partner.

In addition to meeting trading partners’ concerns about issues like tariffs, the governor says expanding exports still comes down to a basic requirement:

“First, you have to make very good products, and we do that. You have to produce something that people want to buy, not only in the rest of the country but all over the world,” he said.

Regions Bank Unveils $1B Development Fund

It isn’t hard to find a consensus of economic development analysts who will tell you that the banking industry hasn’t played a very constructive role in the recovery, on either the national or state level. Though their balance sheets were stabilized by billions in federal bailout funds and an infusion of capital from the Federal Reserve, the major banks have been tightfisted about spreading that fresh cash around in the form of new job-creating loans.

The standout exception has been Regions Bank in Alabama, which recently agreed to set up a $1-billion Economic Development Loan Pool to support job-creation in the State specifically aimed at small businesses. Gov. Bentley expressed pride that it was a large bank in Alabama that stepped forward and set an example for a nation struggling to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Depression.

“The bank initiated this, and we were very excited by it because one of the [biggest] problems that states are having is the ability to acquire capital,” Bentley told BF. “This will provide capital for many of our small businesses as they try to get up and going. It already is spurring activity in Birmingham. For them to put a billion dollars here is very important, because capital is such a vital part of our ability to create jobs, especially on the small-business level.”

“I hope this will encourage a number of the other large banks to do the same thing,” the governor added.

Alabama has had to deal with more than its share of disasters during Bentley’s first term as governor—both natural and man-made.

On his 100th day in office, a monster tornado tore through Tuscaloosa, the worst natural disaster ever to hit the state. The twister caused 254 fatalities in Alabama and left miles of devastation in its wake (the Mercedes-Benz plant and the stadium that is home to the National Champion Crimson Tide college football team were spared).

“This was something that no one can prepare for, but the way you respond is very important,” Bentley said. “Things went well in Alabama not only with the initial response, but because we allowed the local leadership to do their job and we had a very good cooperative effort with FEMA and HUD. They did everything we asked them to do, and I’m thankful for it.”

Gov. Bentley created a Tornado Response Action Council to prepare for future disasters. He asked the council to produce “common-sense” recommendations, many of which already have been implemented. The governor initiated a special sales tax holiday covering household goods needed to cope with storm damage.

Bentley also has had to deal with the nation’s worst maritime oil spill, the massive BP drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, which soiled Alabama’s coastal white-sand beaches. Alabama is among several Gulf Coast states that are still in the process of recovering damages from the British oil giant.

“We’ll see if we’re able to settle,” Bentley said. “We have the first beautiful white beaches you come to, so we think it damaged us more than anyone else.”

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Obama promised he would support NASA’s ambitious plans to replace the Shuttle with a new space vehicle. It was an easy promise to make at the time. The economy was still intact and everyone loves bold visions of futuristic space projects. The man Obama was vying to replace, President George W. Bush, had gone even further a few years earlier–telling NASA to aim for Mars.

As president a year later, Obama discovered this was a promise he couldn’t keep. The economic collapse at the end of 2008 forced an assortment of tough spending choices on the country. Keeping the banks solvent and the car industry alive obviously took priority over snazzy new rockets and manned space vehicles. NASA’s budget was decimated, and plans to build a new manned space vehicle were cancelled by President Obama. On July 21, 2011 – ironically the 42^nd anniversary of the first time humans set foot on the moon – the Space Shuttle landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the last time.

So Florida’s Space Coast had to rethink its mission and redeploy its resources to compete in a brave new world in which government funding of space initiatives could not be expected and private corporations were gearing up across the country to fill the void with their own space-exploration ventures.

We’re pleased to report that Florida’s Space Coast appears to have met this challenge and is poised for a rebound.

Private employers on the Space Coast, which is centered on Brevard County and includes Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island, have created more than 4,000 jobs since 2010, adding 1,000 more this year. These jobs are coming to service a diverse galaxy of high-tech initiatives, including aerospace, aviation and engineering, all well-suited to the skill sets of former NASA program workers.

When NASA moved out, companies including jet-maker Embraer, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Rocket Crafters moved in, bringing a host of small businesses in their wake.

Fortunately, the Space Coast area had experience to draw from in managing this conversion. In 1972, when President Nixon ended the Apollo moon landing program (several additional moon landings were still on the schedule when the program was axed), about 18,000 jobs were lost.

Economic development officials on today’s Space Coast absorbed the key lesson from the Apollo shutdown – planning for the post-Space Shuttle era began well in advance of the last Shuttle flight.

Thankfully, this foresight is beginning to pay off. We applaud the resilience of the Florida Space Coast community and wish them great success as they boldly move into this new era.

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On March 1, 2013, an additional budget reduction associated with the automatic “sequester” took place, due to inaction on a new budget proposal, resulting in $46 billion in annual defense cuts. Assuming that these cuts will be proportional and that the entire amount remains in subsequent congressional actions, it is estimated that up to another 12 percent, or $25 billion, of defense and government contractor budgets are likely to be impacted for a combined total of approximately 24 percent in reductions.

“With U.S. defense budgets being cut, defense contractors are likely to experience continued revenue declines, and in some cases accelerated revenue declines. It’s expected that U.S. defense contractors will aggressively address this revenue shortfall with foreign military sales, acquisitions, new product introductions and growth in adjacent markets,” said Tom Captain, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and aerospace and defense sector leader.

Overall, the top 20 U.S. A&D  companies’ revenues increased 5.5 percent to $354.7 billion, primarily driven by record-setting commercial aircraft production, which offset the negative revenue decline within the defense subsector. Overall operating earnings decreased 2.2 percent to $36.0 billion due to the impact of slowing defense spending.

The report details the financial performance of the top 20 publically listed A&D companies headquartered in the U.S., based on sales revenue. The data to conduct the analysis was obtained from company filings as well as company press reports of fiscal year-end, unaudited financial performance.

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“This is an incredibly exciting time for an industry developing technology that will benefit society, as well as the economy,” said Michael Toscano, president & CEO of AUVSI. “Integrating UAS into the national airspace will lead to new and expanded uses, which means the creation of quality, high-paying American jobs.”

Specifically, the study finds:

• In the first three years following integration into the NAS, more than 70,000 new jobs will be created.
• In the first three years following integration, the total economic impact stemming from the integration is projected to surpass $13.6 billion and will grow sustainably for the foreseeable future, cumulating in more than $82.1 billion in impact between 2015 and 2025. Economic impact includes the monies that flow to manufacturers and suppliers from the sale of new products as well as the taxes and monies that flow into communities and support the local businesses.
• The study projects integration will lead to 103,776 new jobs nationally by 2025. Many of these jobs are portable and will gravitate toward states with favorable regulatory structures and infrastructure. Future events – such as the establishment of FAA Test Sites – will ultimately determine where many of these new jobs will flow.
• Additional economic benefit will be seen through tax revenue to the states, which will total more than $482 million in the first decade following the integration.
• Every year that integration is delayed, the United States loses more than $10 billion in potential economic impact. This translates to a loss of $27.6 million per day that UAS are not integrated into the NAS.

“While we project more than 100,000 new jobs by 2025, states that create favorable regulatory and business environments for the industry and the technology will likely siphon jobs away from states that do not,” wrote the report’s author, Darryl Jenkins, a past professor at George Washington University and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

Nationally, the precision agriculture industry is expected to be the largest market for UAS technology, the AUVSI study finds. UAS will help farmers monitor crops and distribute pesticides, which could not only help improve efficiency, but also reduce the total amount of pesticides sprayed, saving money and reducing environmental impact. The public safety sector is another area that will benefit from the tremendous potential for UAS technology. UAS have the capability to help police and firefighters— who put themselves into harm’s way every day to protect the communities they serve—do their job safely and efficiently.

The report was commissioned by AUVSI and developed by Jenkins, an aviation industry economist with more than 30 years of experience. Jenkins is the author of the Handbook of Airline Economics and previously served as the director of the Aviation Institute at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

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The Miami campus building, the largest campus in the Boeing Flight Services global training network. After the consolidation, Miami will be established as the pro forma training campus for Boeing in the Americas.

Boeing officials have announced that the company is consolidating flight training capabilities in North America—including 787 flight and maintenance training—at the Boeing Flight Services training campus in Miami. The consolidation is part of a larger Commercial Airplanes focus on customer commitments, stepping up efforts to meet market demand for Boeing products, services and support as airplane delivery rates increase.

Boeing will relocate all full-flight simulators and other devices from Seattle to Miami, starting with two 787 training suites. Miami is Boeing’s largest commercial aviation training campus and is a preferred training location for customers based in Latin America as well as the United States, Middle East, Europe and elsewhere. With this consolidation, Miami will be established as the pro forma flight training location for Boeing in the Americas. Implementation will begin immediately.

“This is about getting close to our customers, doing what is right for them and bringing them the best product support and services in the industry,” said Sherry Carbary, vice president, Flight Services, Commercial Aviation Services. “If we are going to better serve our customers and meet training commitments and airplane deliveries as we ramp up on rate, the time to do this is now.”

With 20 simulator bays, the Miami facility is one of the largest commercial flight training campuses in the world, but currently that space is underutilized, with 11 training devices and the capacity to accommodate nine additional full-flight simulators.

The majority of the Seattle Flight Services team will not be affected, but some employees will be impacted by the planned consolidation, Carbary said. “Our training team is the best in the industry. We value the contributions they bring to Boeing every day, and the competitive advantage they bring to our customers around the world.”

The plan to locate 787 training in Miami was announced in 2008 as part of Boeing’s strategy to serve the training requirements of airlines better by locating training closer to where they do business.

Over the past several years Boeing has consolidated and relocated a number of flight training campuses, including four in the United States, based on customer requirements. Strategic positioning of the Boeing global training network is of vital importance to airlines around the world as they seek world-class training resources to meet the demand for aviation personnel. The 2012 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook, an industry forecast of required commercial aviation personnel, cites a need for 460,000 new pilots and 601,000 new maintenance technicians over the next 20 years.

Contact:
Jim Condelles
Flight Services Communications
Commercial Aviation Services
+1 206-766-2924
+1 206-769-6310
jim.condelles@boeing.com

More information: www.boeing.com/boeingedge/flightservices
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/cmo/pilot_technician_outlook.html

Photo and caption are available here: http://boeing.mediaroom.com

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Rendering of new Boeing facility in West Jordan, UT

By Jonathan Sanders
From the January/February 2013 issue

A recent Utah Cluster Acceleration Partnership study reported that Utah’s life sciences industry grew by 25.8 percent from 2001 to 2010, which included a 9.2 percent increase in jobs from 2007 through 2010. At the national level, growth in life sciences employment was 8.4 percent from 2001 to 2010, but essentially flat during the period 2007 through 2010.

Across four major subsectors— Medical Devices and Equipment; Drugs and Pharmaceuticals; Research, Testing, and Medical Labs; and Biomedical Distribution—Utah is specialized with at least 20 percent higher level of industry concentration than is found at the national level for that subsector. In addition, each of the major subsectors of the life sciences industry is growing faster in Utah.

Utah’s life sciences industry is a source of high-wage jobs. The average wage for jobs in the life sciences stands at $59,480, or 53 percent above the private sector average of $38,932.

The life sciences industry has a significant impact on the Utah economy. In 2010, the cluster contributed $14.6 billion in economic output to the state and supported more than 63,000 jobs with workers earning $3.5 billion in personal income. Utah is targeting growth in four life science sectors:

• Novel medical devices
• Molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine
• Molecular medicine; drug discovery, development, and delivery
• Natural products/dietary supplements

In addition, the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development has a long history of offering tax incentives for biotech companies such as Edwards Life-sciences and Merit Medical. Most recently, the state supported a major expansion of BioFire Diagnostics, whose innovations in molecular diagnostics are helping propel Utah into its future life sciences economy.

Rounding out Utah’s life sciences story is continued investment in research and development and educating the workforce of tomorrow. Exemplifying this effort is the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative (innovationutah.com). USTAR accelerates the ability of the University of Utah (U of U) and Utah State University (USU) to recruit world-class researchers, specifically into high-growth focus areas such as neuroscience and biomedical innovations. The initiative enabled the construction of two interdisciplinary research and development facilities at Salt Lake City and Logan campuses. USTAR operates outreach teams across the state to help entrepreneurs and existing companies commercialize new technology and access the resources available at higher education institutions.

The new 208,000 square-foot USTAR center at the U of U and the 118,000 square-foot sister facility already in operation at USU in Logan have accelerated the state’s ability to bring in entrepreneurial- minded, “catalyst-type” researchers. As a result, Utah is fulfilling its objective to become a world-class research destination, particularly in bioengineering, genetics and cancer research.

USTAR also has invested in the BioInnovations Gateway, a life sciences incubator that supports up to seven client companies while exposing high school and college students to intensive internships in biomanufacturing and biotechnology. Client companies have not only trained these young students, but have also hired them upon graduation. For more information, contact Michael O’Malley at momalley@utah.gov or 801-538-8879.

BOEING SETS UP SHOP IN WEST JORDAN

Boeing has announced the purchase of a new building in Salt Lake County, UT. Employees at the new site, located in West Jordan, will focus on fabrication of composite horizontal stabilizer components for the 787-9 jetliner.

“The site we’ve chosen is an ideal location to add composite manufacturing capability focused on Boeing’s key business strategies,” said Ross R. Bogue, vice president and general manager of Boeing Fabrication. “This new facility will provide a real competitive advantage in our supply chain by expanding our internal composite capabilities.”

The new site, located 20 miles from Boeing’s fabrication and assembly site in Salt Lake City, was purchased from Masco. The close proximity of the two facilities will help improve the efficiency from component fabrication to assembly of the 787-9 horizontal stabilizer. The composite component fabrication facility is expected to create approximately 100 new jobs.

When finalized, the facility will provide the Boeing Salt Lake team with the flexibility to meet the demands of a highly competitive market.

“Boeing appreciates its continued relationship with the state of Utah and we are looking forward to creating a new partnership with the city of West Jordan,” said Craig Trewet, director of Boeing Salt Lake.

CAPTIONS:

p. 9 – Rendering of new Boeing facility in West Jordan, UT

UTAH FAST FACTS

• Population (2011 Est.): 2,817,222
• Largest Cities (2011): Salt Lake City, 189,899; West Valley City, 131,942; Provo, 115,321;
West Jordan, 105,675; Orem, 90,727
• Targeted Industries: Data Centers, Adv. Composites, IT, Digital Media, Renewable Energy, Manufacturing, Retail, Sports & Outdoor Products
• Key Incentives: Enterprise Zones, Rural Fast Track Program, ED Tax Increment Financing, Motion Picture Incentives, Private Activity Bond
• GDP (All Industry 2011): $124.5 billion*

*Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce

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The run-up to Washington’s latest manufactured budget crisis closely follows the script for a generic Road Runner cartoon. Wile E. Coyote arranges for an Acme safe to be hurled off a cliff over Road Runner’s favorite route through the cartoon desert. Mr. Coyote’s timing is off, the Road Runner zips through unscathed and Wile E. goes down to investigate. He looks up and gets clobbered by the tardy safe.

In the sequester cartoon unfolding in our nation’s capital, the budget safe falls off the Washington Monument and everything gets squashed, including the U.S. economy.

As this is being written, President Obama is racing around the country making dire predictions about which essential federal services will be decimated if the March 1 sequester deadline is breached and $85 billion in across-the-board budget cuts go into effect. The cuts are supposed to be a down-payment on $1.2 trillion in spending reductions spread over the next 10 years.

Here’s a sampling: Half of the USDA’s meat inspectors will be furloughed, forcing all of us to eat canned tuna fish; five divisions of the Armed Forces will be taken off the front lines, imperiling our national security; most of the folks who inspect our shoes, belt buckles and nail clippers at airports will be sent home, adding three hours to the average boarding time for air travel. And so on and so forth.

The president is so busy spinning these visions of gloom and doom he usually neglects to point out that he signed the law creating the sequester in the first place. This happened during an earlier pre-fabricated budget showdown in 2011, which featured a threatened default on the national debt and resulted in the first-ever downgrade of the United States’ AAA credit rating.

To sort out fact from fiction, we think it’s useful to check some non-partisan sources. Unfortunately, their prognostications are just as dire as the stuff coming from the political combatants in Washington.

According to a study issued last fall by the Aerospace Industry Association, the sequester will cost the U.S. more than two million jobs by the end of next year, reduce the nation’s GDP by $215 billion this year, decrease personal earnings of the workforce by $109 billion and send the unemployment rate spiraling back up over 9 percent.

Because nearly half of the automatic sequester cuts are earmarked to hit the Pentagon’s budget, the job-loss pain will be felt most severely in states that are home to the aerospace/defense industry and other critical military supply-chain facilities. At the top of the list are California (an estimated 225,464 jobs lost), Virginia (207,571), Texas (159,473)), Maryland (114,795) and Florida (79,459).

Most Vulnerable States (job losses/sequester budget cuts). (Credit: Aerospace Industry Association)

A consensus of independent analysts warns that the U.S. is poised to plunge back into the depths of the Great Recession if the folks in Washington don’t get their act together.

Partisans on both sides of this drama think they have a failsafe mechanism which will enable us to step aside at the last second and avoid getting crushed by the sequester safe. It’s called a continuing resolution. The script goes something like this:

Step One: The sequester goes into effect and the country writhes in agony as thousands are sent to the unemployment lines (and contaminated meat flows into supermarkets).

Step Two: President Obama and Republicans in Congress stage a month-long orgy of recriminations, each trying to pin the blame for the crisis on the other guy.

Step Three: Congress passes a continuing resolution in April restoring most of the cuts in exchange for a non-binding agreement to raise the retirement age to 85 in 2040 and everyone declares victory.

Of course, even if this outcome is realized, neither side has bothered to calculate the impact of their cartoon drama on the U.S. economy and our sputtering recovery. There’s a distinct possibility that another two months of bickering in this latest fake crisis could by itself extinguish glimmers of business and consumer confidence and spawn a very real Recession not unlike the downturn we recently emerged from. Then federal tax revenues will plunge, the budget deficit will explode and our long-term debt will exponentially increase — the exact opposite of what Congressional leaders claim they were trying to accomplish when they enacted the sequester.

This grim prospect has prompted calls for a ceasefire from some unexpected quarters. Even Karl Rove, Secretary of Political Warfare under President George W. Bush, is urging a compromise of sorts. In an Op-Ed piece this week, Rove suggested that Congress immediately pass a continuing resolution authorizing spending for the rest of the year, capping federal funding at sequester levels and giving President Obama the authority to decide where the cuts will be made to avoid the most onerous reductions. With his usual Machiavellian flourish, Rove’s solution would appease Democrats who want to avoid cuts to social programs like Head Start, while enabling Republicans to place the blame for Defense spending cuts directly on the president’s lap.

The most sage advice we can offer is to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

At least one state appears to be acting on this suggestion: A bill making its way through the Montana legislature offers Montanans an alternative to the tainted meat that may fill supermarket shelves if federal meat inspectors are sent home. The Montana House of Representatives passed a bill last week, introduced by State Rep. Steve Lavin, to allow “game animals, fur-bearing animals, migratory game birds and upland game birds” who have been killed by a car to be harvested for food.

That’s right, they’re making it legal to eat roadkill. To which we can only say, in the immortal response of Wile E. Coyote staring up at the looming Acme safe:

“GULP!“

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