Lawmakers spotlight aerospace industry
California’s Aviation and Aerospace Days at the Capitol in Sacramento wrap up today
Visit the West Steps of California’s Capitol today, and you’ll find an exhibit celebrating the state’s aerospace industry. It’s part of California’s Aviation and Aerospace Days, sponsored by the Aerospace States Association.
The association is a nonpartisan organization of elected officials, appointed delegates, and associate members from aerospace organizations and academia, according to its website.
Its mission includes promoting states’ interests in federal aerospace and aviation policy development, research and design funding, and workforce training,
Santa Clarita is home to more than 100 aerospace companies, according to the SCV Economic Development Corp. These companies often act as suppliers to larger manufacturers twenty miles to our east in the Antelope Valley.
“Antelope Valley is the home to America’s aerospace industry, and it is imperative we do all we can to foster this vital sector,” said Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, in a statement marking Aviation and Aerospace Days. “There is no region in the world that can match Antelope Valley’s aerospace resources and talent.”
Wilk said he is working to attract a University of California Institute for Aerospace to the Antelope Valley as a magnet for investment, innovation, education and jobs.
Some aerospace jobs have moved from the Antelope Valley to Santa Clarita in recent years.
Crissair Inc. makes aircraft fluid control components to top-gun aerospace companies that include Lockheed Martin, Gulfstream, Boeing and Airbus.
The company relocated to a 70,000 square foot building on Avenue Williams in Valencia from Palmdale in 2015 after acquiring a smaller company, Santa Clarita’s Canyon Engineering Products, in 2013.
Both companies manufactured similar devices for aircraft. Crissair needed more space and manufacturing capacity than it had in Palmdale.
ASA chapters in nine other states have held or will hold events this year to promote their states’ aviation and space industry.
The California chapter held its annual meeting Monday and a legislative roundtable and discussion of deep space exploration yesterday.
“Today we underscored our deep appreciation for the economic powerhouse that is the aerospace industry and our enduring commitment to its prolonged prosperity in California,” Wilk said.