Larry Findeiss is now an Air-vangelist, an expression
officials in Oklahoma use to describe their passion for telling the world that
Oklahoma, believe it or not, is an aerospace mecca.
Findeiss on Thursday was appointed as the first executive
director of the Oklahoma Aerospace Industry Association, a group charged with
seeing to the interests of the state's 300 to 400 aerospace companies.
According to Findeiss, previously the sales director of the
landing gear component repair services of Lufthansa Technik/Hawker Pacific
Aerospace, aerospace accounts for more than 140,000 jobs in the state, with one
in 10 people working in the industry, and it generates more than $12 billion in
annual revenues.
The Industry Association in its first year secured a state
tax exemption through the state legislature for MRO work on aircraft under
9,000 lbs. On tap for next year could be a pooling of insurance money to help
MROs set up shop in the state. Findeiss says airlines require an MRO to hold
about $200 million in liability insurance.
