Ohio Governor Bob Taft recently signed into law House Bill 230, a bill proposed to create a new Aerospace and Defense Council for the state. This renewed commitment to the development of aerospace technology will likely have a significant impact on machine manufacturers and machine shop users around the globe.

Makino President Don Lane applauds these efforts. “I feel there is a definite need to help secure the interests of Ohio corporations and organizations involved in this industry. As a leading global manufacturer of state-of-the-art, high-speed machining centers for various segments of the aerospace market, we stand ready to provide whatever counsel and input is necessary to assure the success of this effort.”

Frank Samuel, Science and Technology Advisor to Governor Bob Taft of Ohio, has responsibility for overseeing and forming Ohio’s new Aerospace and Defense Council. Samuel sees the new Aerospace and Defense Council as an important step in involving the private sector in matters of defense work throughout the state.

The primary objective of the Council is to get more Federal funding for projects at Wright-Patterson and at NASA Glenn, and to keep the funding through viable research and developments in aerospace and defense technology. The Council will be involved in finding ways to apply technologies created at these two institutions for the benefit of the Ohio economy, apart from employment benefits, which are evident.

The state’s heightened commitment to aerospace research will have a noticeable impact on the aerospace industry in and around Ohio, a state known globally as a major industrial machining center. “It’s clear that Ohio is an extremely significant state in aerospace and defense,” notes Samuel. “Several billion dollars are spent on defense R&D and defense procurement here in this state,” Samuel says. And that commitment has paid off in terms of results. Studies back up Ohio’s importance in the industry. The National Science Foundation has rated the state third in aerospace and defense research and development.

To the machine manufacturer and the machine shop user in the aerospace industry, the desired effect of Ohio’s aerospace and defense initiatives is a noticeable increase in sales, employment and productivity. It is hoped that the Council will play into that. “I think a significant part of what the Council will be doing is putting more public advocacy behind what the industry is now doing,” Samuel speculates. “And machining and metalworking are important elements of that.”

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