AE Industrial Partners, a private equity investment firm in the aerospace and defense sector, on April 17 unveiled a formal partnership with Space Florida economic boosters.
Details were not provided by either group; they have worked together before. But according to a prepared statement, AEI of Boca Raton, Florida, will leverage economic development agency Space Florida’s funding resources and expertise to help attract and invest in companies that are looking to expand or move to Florida.
“The new space economy is expected to be a huge driver of highly skilled jobs over the coming decades, and we are excited to partner with Space Florida to attract new companies and jobs to Florida,” AEI Partner Kirk Konert says in the statement. “Our state has long been a hub for aerospace and defense, and we believe this partnership will help expand the aerospace and space industries in Florida while driving significant innovation in the sector.”
Home to Cape Canaveral and the Space Coast, Florida has been working to underpin and beef up its space market leadership since NASA’s space shuttle program ended. Late in the last decade, the state appeared to be marking several achievements as the commercial new-space era emerged and the Space Coast was a logical and eager partner for many startups to utilize.
According to 16-year-old Space Florida, more than 17,000 aerospace-related companies are based in Florida contributing $19 billion in revenue to the state’s economy. Space Florida alone has had a $5.9 billion economic impact on the state since 2007, the development agency says, and it promises a $1.1 billion economic impact annually over the next five years.
But competition is heating up among the states, with California, Texas and Virginia also pursuing and landing increased market shares of new-space projects, while Florida has suffered some setbacks. Boca Raton-based Terran Orbital initially hyped a massive satellite manufacturing plan to be based at Cape Canaveral, but last October it surprised observers with a strategic pivot of its business plans, including concentrating manufacturing in Irvine, California.
“While the aerospace sector has been booming in Florida for many years, it has faced capacity challenges and stiff competition from other states,” consultancy PwC says in its latest annual ranking of aerospace manufacturing attractiveness.
Still, PwC notes in its report that Florida is taking a different path than many states toward wooing space work, by emphasizing labor. “The emphasis on workforce growth (as distinct from scale of investment or production) as a sector target is an interesting development—and one that other states might emulate,” the firm says.
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