The Summit and the Sum of its Profits

Prior to the Seventh, Annual Summit, Chad Causey, Executive Director of AADA, stated in an Arkansas Online interview, “Arkansas is open for business, but it has strong businesses here. That is important to highlight as we're recruiting. We've already got a broad base to grow from.” Today, in an interview before the Ninth Annual Summit, it could not be truer.

The Arkansas Aerospace and Defense industry has continued to grow leaps and bounds because of the Alliance, and today roughly 10,000 Arkansans are employed because of the industry. Causey states that what he loves about AADA is that, “I get to work with a lot of amazing people. Some of whom have built amazing companies that started with a small Arkansas foot- print but have grown exponentially, expanding to new heights and enabling thousands of Arkansans to have rewarding careers.”

One of these companies he highlights is Galley Support Innovations, which Gina Radke is Chief Executive Officer, and now President of AADA. They started out as very small business in 2005 with around a $10,000 in sales their first year, and what is now, today, a multi-million-dollar company.

According to Causey, the whole purpose of the Alliance is to work for these companies by growing their business, “We do this through the Summit, a trade show we hold annually, that brings companies not only from Arkansas, but throughout the country. There are speakers on new business lines, and technologies. A whole gamut of interesting topics that discuss how more we can do business together.” There are many ways of doing business in the Aerospace and Defense industry. From upholstery, latching, welding, engineering, and military. The Al- liance covers everything in the industry from business aviation to missiles.

The Arkansas Aerospace and Defense Alliance tries to serve all of the 180 aviation and aero- space-related companies in the state. Those companies not yet directly benefitting from the Alliance should consider attending this year’s Summit, March 15th-16th. Over 80 companies will be represented at this year’s Summit, including big companies like Lockheed Martin and smaller companies like B&M Painting & Military Coatings company. Causey states of all the companies that will be attending the 2017 Summit that, “Companies that choose to do business with these kinds of companies will not be disappointed.”