EADS licensing event to be in Dayton

Aerospace firm EADS has chosen Dayton for its first technology licensing event, the company said.

The two-day event will begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Wright Brothers Institute, 5000 Springfield St., Suite 100.

“We are searching for companies that want to work with us to apply these technologies to their projects, programs and products,” the Herndon, Va.based company said in an announcement.

Mark Fraser, EADS (European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.) North America chief technology officer, said the event will explore licensing opportunities in sensor technology, composite materials manufacturing, propulsion systems and other EADS specialty areas.

EADS NA and its Airbus commercial aviation division do more than $12 billion of business with suppliers nationally each year, with about $5 million of that going to Ohio suppliers, company officials said. EADS and Airbus support about 220,000 American jobs, said EADS spokesman James Darcy.

Relationships with U.S. suppliers are crucial, Darcy and Fraser said. The EADS-produced Airbus A330 is made in Europe, but about 45 percent of its parts are supplied or sourced from the U.S.

EADS does not have a large number of Dayton-area employees, and Darcy could not offer a number of Dayton-area jobs supported by EADS or Airbus. However, “We have partners throughout Dayton, and one of the things that drew us to that particular locale was the partnership with the Dayton Development Coalition,” Fraser said.

The meeting is open to aviation supply companies, those who want to be a part of that supply chain, and any company that might benefit from EADS technology. The company has about 30,000 patents, Fraser said. EADS and Airbus, located in about 17 states, have about 2,641 U.S. employees.

Those interested in participating should contact Fraser at mark.fraser@eads-na.com.