Sen. Blumenthal sees potential for Airbus to double its $5-B commitment to CT businesses

dickThe Blogster caught U.S. Sen. Dick Blumenthal this morning in New Britain, prior to an event on the “Week of Kindness” for the memories of the slain in Newtown.

Connecticut’s senior senator told a couple of reporters that he hopes that the state’s aerospace industry is ready to grab additional business. “We’ve asked Airbus to talk to our small and medium manufacturers because they’re going to be doubling their Connecticut contracts, buying more parts, components and essential supplies in here going, from $5 billion a year to $10 billion a year, potentially. So we want Connecticut’s small businesses and manufacturers to be literally on the ground floor as they build businesses. They are already a major buyer from Connecticut businesses but we want them to double that amount, so they can grow jobs and business in Connecticut.”

Blumenthal was on his way to a Windsor Locks hotel for a one-day conference to promote increased business between Connecticut and the French firms. The state, you might like to know, has over 200 businesses in the aerospace game, employing about 40,000. Later that morning Blumenthal appeared at a news conference withDave Williams, vice president of Airbus Americas and executives from current Airbus suppliers Pratt & Whitney, Hamilton Sundstrand and Kamatics.