It’s been more than a year since the state launched the NH Aerospace and Defense Export Consortium (NHADEC)—among the first of its kind in the country—and the experiment to help competitors in a vital sector work together seems to be working.
The consortium was established in April 2013 by the NH International Trade Resource Center in Concord through part of a $300,000 State Trade Export Promotion Grant to provide programs, technical assistance and expertise to support and expand the export sales of its members.
The consortium has 40 paid members and is growing. IT provides educational seminars and opportunities to be part of international trade shows as well as export consulting, training, translation and interpreting services; assistance with transport, logistics, compliance and regulatory issues; and joint advertising and market research, among other services.
“Aerospace and defense is a fast growing sector in New Hampshire. Just under 4 percent of our GDP is aerospace and defense—the sixth highest in the country,” says Dawn Wivell, CEO of Firebrand International LLC, an export/import consulting firm in Portsmouth, who manages the consortium. Wivell previously led the NH International Trade Resource Center for more than two decades.
New Hampshire is home to about 350 aerospace and defense companies, says Christopher Wrenn, chair of the consortium’s board of directors. “As of 2010, approximately 7,000 people were employed in aerospace [in New Hampshire] with an average salary of $97,000,” he says.
While consortiums are common in Europe, they are not as prevalent in the United States, so NH’s efforts have caught the attention of others across the country. In its first year, the consortium has participated in two major airshows—Paris and Singapore—pooling resources to purchase a booth that would have cost up to $30,000 for one business, but acting together cost each participating business only $1,800.
The consortium recently signed an agreement with Aero Montreal, the third largest cluster of aerospace companies in the world, to cooperate and coordinate actions between the organizations’ members, Wivell says. It also gave a presentation in July at a conference of the New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers about the agreement. “I want our companies to become an integral part of the supply chain to companies in Montreal,” she says.
Among the members that participated in the Singapore Airshow and the Montreal trip was Corfin Industries LLC, a Salem-based company that provides component preparation services to the defense, aerospace, medical, telecommunications, transportation, industrial and other high reliability industries.
“[It] certainly opened some doors,” says Don Tyler, managing director of Corfin. “One of the biggest benefits is being connected to people like us and dividing the costs of airshows.”
The consortium has held several training sessions on export laws and regulations for its members as well as hosted country and market specialists from Singapore, Germany and Dubai to meet with its members, Wivell says. In October, the consortium will exhibit at the annual conference for the Association of the United States Army in Washington D.C., which attracts U.S. and foreign military leaders.
Consortium members also share expertise. “Companies can share their information, what one member calls tribal knowledge,” Wivell says. “It’s been helpful to many of the members.” Through the grant, the consortium provided services for free in its first year but shifted to a fee-based membership. New Hampshire companies that produce aerospace and defense products can join for $400 a year, while businesses that provide services to those companies (such as law firms and freight companies) can join for an annual fee of $700.
With the membership fee model in place, and a track record, the consortium is actively recruiting members. “I see us becoming a global and regional player,” Wrenn says.
For more information, visit www.nhadec.com.
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