Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley touted the economic advantages of his state for aerospace and defense companies in a recent interview with SatelliteTODAY.com. He stated that the two industries employ about 145,000 and generate almost $26 billion in economic activity in the state. The governor and other political and economic leaders want to highlight what Maryland has to offer, to attract new companies, and bring new aerospace careers to the region.
The state’s access to Washington, D.C., is one of the greatest attractions for firms doing business in Maryland. Hughes’ Defense and Intelligence Systems told SatelliteTODAY that the quality of graduates produced by the University of Maryland has been a key factor in the four decades that the company has been in the state. A 2011 expansion by Boeing was cited by the state’s Secretary of the Department of Business & Economic Development as being based upon the local quality of life and the abilities of the local workforce.
Maryland advertises that the aerospace and defense industries in the state are represented by some 2,600 companies. They employee 91,000 workers, four percent of the state’s workforce, at an average salary of $93,000. The Census Bureau reports similar facts. Per capita income in Maryland is 25 percent higher than the national average. Median income is 40 percent higher than the national average.
The article also notes that the state contains significant federal facilities, including the Goddard Space Flight Center and the NSA. The Defense Intelligence Agency has built a large facility on the former site of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Brookmont, Md.
Governor O’Malley had this to say: “The research being done in our labs, the technology being developed in our innovative companies, and the advanced manufacturing taking place in modern plants across Maryland all come together to advance the nation’s aviation, aerospace, space and satellite capabilities.”
