A small state-run aerospace program is helping drive companies to Oklahoma “fast and furiously,” the program’s director said.
The state’s Aerospace Commerce Economic Services Program, or ACES, has helped secure 54 projects generating $1.9 billion in new investments since its launch in 2018, according to 2023 state analysis.
The four-member unit landed nearly a quarter of those projects — expected to generate about $702.7 million in investments — in 2023 alone, according to the report.
“It’s letting people know that Oklahoma is open for aerospace business,” said Sandra Shelton, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics. “That’s really important, because when people think about Oklahoma, they don’t think about Oklahoma being the aerospace capital of the world.”
Shelton said the unit, which is an arm of the Department of Commerce, helps the state continue to grow its No. 2 industry.
“There’s all these companies that are supporting the aerospace mission,” Shelton said. “And so we have many veins that are kind of flowing into the arteries of the heartbeat of our aerospace economy. And I think that’s what’s really strengthening our economy, diversifying it from oil and gas.”
In 2018, House Bill 2578 created the ACES Program to gain high-level aerospace expertise and offer consulting services to aerospace-related companies, including aviation and defense. The program also works with other entities such as colleges and CareerTech to expand the industry in the state.
“I would say in my wildest dreams, I didn’t think it would take off like it did,” Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, who authored the legislation. “No pun intended there, but it did.”
Rosino served at Tinker Air Force Base for about 10 years of his 25-year tenure with the U.S. Navy.
The program’s budget for fiscal year 2025 is about $1.8 million. The program has received $6.2 million from the Legislature since its creation, according to the analysis.
Leshia Pearson, ACES Program director, said she has seen it grow “fast and furiously.”
“Our goals are to grow Oklahoma’s aerospace and defense industry, and we do that by supporting existing business in the state, as well as bringing new business to the state,” Pearson said.
Tim Frisby, managing partner for Critical Components Aerospace, which makes landing gear and space components, said the company has worked with the ACES program almost since its launch.
The company attends trades shows with the ACES team, and has a booth in “Oklahoma Alley,” the nickname for where exclusively Oklahoma-based companies promote their products. After many shows, Critical Components Aerospace has outgrown the ACES booth, and now it has its own, Frisby said.
Through the ACES program, the company has been able to land a multi-million dollar Air Force contract, Frisby said.
“So they facilitated awards of STEP grants that helped pay for the trade shows, and they were really indispensable for that kind of thing,” Frisby said.
The grants help companies promote their products.
Frisby said the company will likely stay partners with the program to continue to be “advocates for aerospace in Oklahoma.”
ACES recently targeted the Farnborough International Airshow in England. Throughout the year, the division attends and offers events like airshows, career fairs and industry days to network with other companies and recruit people to the aerospace industry in Oklahoma.
Pearson said about 15 Oklahoma-based companies traveled with ACES to the airshow, which is the largest group the program has taken. While there, the companies were able to network with other attendees.
Recently, the program also worked with the Air Force to host an Oklahoma industry day for the fourth time, she said. In April, Pearson said the ACES program held a career fair where Tinker Air Force Base hired about 125 of the 835 attendees on the spot.
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