JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Jay Nixon discussed the successes and challenges of his week-long trip to Europe with legislators and 14 Missouri companies and institutions during a conference call with reporters earlier today.
Joining Nixon and the different business leaders on the trade trip were Senate Majority Leader Ron Richard, R-Joplin, and Sen. Ryan McKenna, D-Jefferson County.
The primary purpose of the trip was to attend the Paris Air Show, a week-long show every two years and the largest single exhibition of aerospace companies in the world. It was during the air show that Boeing showed off their newest prize item: the 787 Dreamliner.
The aircraft, which has some parts manufactured in Missouri, is the company’s answer to Airbus’ A350, which debuted its first successful flight during the show as well.
Nixon said the presence of governors from Oklahoma, Kansas and Michigan, among other states, showed that the realm of aerospace jobs is a “growing market” in the region.
“[The governors] are all here because they see the potential to improve investments in a key economic sector,” Nixon said. “And for Missouri, it represents a clear sign that we are going to move our products around the world, whatever that product is.”
Nixon will be traveling to Brussels later in the week for a civilian North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) briefing on the European markets with Missouri companies like Boeing, Essex Industries and Saberliner.
While in France, Nixon and Boeing President and CEO W. James McNerney announced plans for Boeing to build an information technology center in the St. Louis region, which the pair said would create about 400 permanent jobs.
“It’s just one small part of a larger mission on our part to expand industries that already have a place here in Missouri and bring more jobs to the state,” Nixon added.
The governor is set to return this coming Saturday.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
