WHAT THEY ARE SAYING… Florida Business Leaders Applaud Governor Scott's Economic Development Mission to London

Press Release

Today, Florida business leaders applauded Governor Scott's economic development mission to the 2016 Farnborough International Air Show in London. While in London, Governor Scott announced the creation of 1,200 new jobs for Florida families.

Alan Pellegrini, President and CEO of Thales USA, said, "The State of Florida is a hub for the aerospace industry and with the leadership of Governor Scott and other state and local officials Thales is pleased to continue to grow in Florida. Thales' InFlyt Experience business is targeting the creation of 500 net-new jobs and a capital investment of greater than $20 million over the next five years -- continuing the strong trend of Florida-centric growth. With a major recent acquisition in the state -- LiveTV in 2014 -- and the expansion of our cybersecurity business in Plantation -- thanks to this year's acquisition of Vormetric -- we are pleased that the state's pro-business agenda is helping to enable our continued growth."

David Clark, Vice President of Defense and Aerospace at AAMSI, said, "We've been working closely with Enterprise Florida at various shows dating back to 1996 -- Farnborough, Paris, Singapore, etc. -- and we're very appreciative of their assistance. Having Governor Scott here, supporting Florida as a business hub for aviation, is greatly needed and appreciated."

Maurcio Mendoze, Marketing Manager for Pan American Tool Corporation, said, "We're a small company and Enterprise Florida offers us a great opportunity to attend shows like this. EFI has the resources for us to attend these shows and expose our products to an international aviation and aerospace audience. Governor Scott's presence here is big. It shows that the state of Florida is behind us and helping exporting companies succeed in Florida."

Joe Fairleigh, Breezer Mobile Cooling Vice President of Sales, said, "Working with Enterprise Florida's grant program, industry research and tradeshow support has enabled us to expand into new international markets in a cost-effective and efficient manner. It is great to see that Governor Scott is in support of Enterprise Florida's small business initiatives to help grow Florida-based business and jobs."

Phillip Cox, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Loos & Co Inc., said, "This is our 12th show with Enterprise Florida and it's been a tremendously successful partnership since the beginning. We're a relatively small company so for us to exhibit on our own at a show like this would be expensive. When we started working with EFI we did no business in Europe and now the market accounts for 25 percent of our aerospace business. It's an honor to be here with Governor Scott and his being here shows the state's commitment to this event and the companies here."

Steven J. Walker, President and CEO of Honeycomb Company of America, Inc., said, "This is our second year partnering with Enterprise Florida. Honeycomb Company has been headquartered in beautiful Sarasota, Florida for 68 years manufacturing military and commercial aircraft parts, and shows like Farnborough help us market our company internationally. This show also allows us to network with OEMs such as Boeing, Bell Helicopter and Lockheed Martin, and this year we have the opportunity to introduce our new aircraft repair center in Pensacola. We appreciate the support of Governor Scott and Enterprise Florida in helping us reach new international markets and grow our business."

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