Could the Aerospace Industry be an Opportunity for Wyoming?

by Philip Baron, MBA

Many industries in Wyoming focus around the production of oil, gas, and coal. These industries have many small businesses and suppliers that support the miners who extract the minerals from the ground.

Some of the support industries that build equipment or manufacture parts could find work making specialty parts for the aerospace and defense industry. On October 7^th and 8^th , 2019, the economic development groups Forward Casper and Forward Sheridan held the first ever Wyoming Aerospace and Defense Conference.

Governor Mark Gordon spoke the conference regarding Wyoming's the current turn downfall in the coal industry, "CNBC called and said coal is really under a lot of challenge what is Wyoming going to do if coal goes away?" The Governor believes that "Wyoming uniquely has the right environment, the right workforce and the right sets of opportunities that will build [the aerospace industry] industry."

An increase in aerospace manufacturing in Wyoming will be the result of the decisions of small businesses. For a potential manufacturer to do business with the aerospace industry, they must first secure a contract with one of the large aerospace contractors Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Northridge Grumman, or a government agency who needs the services and capabilities that that small business can offer. They would then become a sub-contractor of the large government contracting agency or a direct contractor with the government agency.

In order for a small manufacturing operation to receive a contract to do work or manufacture a part they must comply with aerospace industry standards such as ISO 9000 (the International Organization for Standardization's rules on quality management) and AS 9000 (aerospace standards that are a sub set of the ISO 9000 standards) Also, the small business must comply with federal purchasing and acquisition standards and cybersecurity standards Such as Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification or (CMMC) within its business operations because the company may handle sensitive information.

After they become a qualified manufacturer, they can then register in the database of the large aerospace contractors to then be considered if the capacity that they offer is needed for a particular project. At this point, after the small business has some up-front initial investment, can they then accept a contract if it is offered.

For many of the suppliers and small manufacturers in the Wyoming minerals industry, aerospace manufacturing could mean a steady source of income once a contract is secured. This manufacturing could provide a transition from the ups and downs of the mineral industry. However, there is no guarantee that a particular company has the capabilities or specialty that is needed by the larger aerospace contractors.

The aerospace and defense industry receive much of its funding through taxpayer dollars. Depending on the nature of the work, some may be funded through private investment. The federal funding in the industry is the reason for the lengthy amount of regulations that must be followed by contractors and sub-contractors. The work that might happen in Wyoming would be the result of federal tax dollars and in some cases, the State of Wyoming tax dollars due to funding and assistance from the Wyoming Business Council for small businesses.

Any influx of aerospace sub-contracting work into the state would act as a subsidy to existing industries and businesses that could benefit from steady work. Aerospace manufacturing subcontracting is one of the viable options that may replace the declining industry and keep skilled workers employed in the state.