The Alabama Department of Commerce is leading a state delegation this week at the 34th annual International Defense Industry Exhibition in Kielce, Poland.
Known as MSPO, it’s the largest defense trade fair in Central and Eastern Europe and a significant opportunity to display the defense capabilities of Alabama companies and what the state has to offer those looking for their next expansion site.
This year’s event is expected to break attendance records with more than 1,000 exhibitors from 40 countries.
“MSPO provides Alabama with an important platform to advance both sides of our global business strategy — helping Alabama companies reach new international customers while building relationships with companies that may consider Alabama for future U.S. investment,” said Christian Stimpson, Chief Officer of Commerce’s Global Business Office. “By bringing Made in Alabama and Export Alabama together at one of Europe’s leading defense industry events, we can showcase the capabilities of our companies, strengthen Alabama’s presence in the market, and create opportunities for trade, partnerships and investment.”
The Alabama delegation will share exhibition booth space with their counterparts from Georgia.
Three Huntsville-based companies are attending the expo with Commerce officials:
PTS Expeditionary Communications offers specialized products with expeditionary communication solutions;
Relogic Research provides applied research, production development and fabrication services;
Zaden Technologies offers AI-driven solutions and scalable cloud computing platforms to enhance defense system performance.
“Our goal is to make sure Alabama companies arrive at MSPO prepared to make the most of every conversation and opportunity,” said David Sides, International Project Manager for Commerce. “Before the show, we used TradeMatchGPT, a proprietary business matchmaking tool developed by the Alabama Department of Commerce and the Alabama International Trade Center, to identify prospective customers, partners and other high-value contacts for each participating company.
“During MSPO, we’ll continue supporting the three Alabama firms co-exhibiting in the Made in Alabama/Georgia USA booth working with Valians International by facilitating introductions, identifying new opportunities and helping companies turn those connections into meaningful international business.”
Christoph Dörr, who has run Commerce’s European office from Germany since 2019, is part of the state delegation seeking expanded international opportunities at the trade fair.
On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Thomas Rose visited with the Alabama team and talked with Sides and Dörr at the state’s booth.
Defense player
Alabama is home to several key military installations and defense assets and manufacturing hubs, including:
Redstone Arsenal, home of the Army Aviation and Missile Command, Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Missile and Space Intelligence Center
Fort Rucker and the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence
Maxwell Air Force Base
Anniston Army Depot
Austal USA Shipyard
Boeing
Northrop Grumman
Raytheon
Lockheed Martin
United Launch Alliance
Northrop Grumman
Since 2015, aerospace, defense and aviation companies have announced more than $4.3 billion in new investments in Alabama, resulting in more than 15,000 new jobs.
More defense industry investments are expected when Redstone becomes the permanent base of Space Command Headquarters. The announcement last year by the Trump Administration helped reinforce Alabama’s critical role in the nation’s space program and its significant contributions in the defense realm. About 1,400 new Space Command jobs are expected to transition to Huntsville over the next five years.
Courtesy of the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.
