Northwest Aerospace News April | May Issue No. 2 | Page 36

W
ith this collaborative approach, the
Corridor can utilize its individual organiza-
tion strengths in building and presenting the
region’s best story for prospective buyers.
For example, INWAC’s mission is growth
for existing industry suppliers in the region.
Marry that with GSI and CdAEDC’s goal
to attract new companies, and the engines
kick to life driving potential for the region.
Demonstrating this collaborative approach,
Altek, a regional Tier 2 supplier with Tier 1
objectives, is what INWAC calls a “pro-
gram integrator.” Integrators are members
who have the resources and experience nec-
essary to coordinate complex assemblies
with multiple manufacturing disciplines
within the network, resulting in a cohesive
proposal when large and complex bid pack-
ages are requested.
Rick Taylor, Altek’s VP of sales, says
about the work, “As a founding member
of INWAC, Altek is deeply invested in the
mission of advancing aerospace manufac-
turing and supply services in the Inland
Northwest. Supporting requests for tech-
nical information through being a program
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NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS
integrator, is our way of elevating this
region’s offering and setting us apart
from the rest of the field.” Staci Nelson
asserts program integrators like Altek
have been instrumental in leveraging
INWAC and the I-90 Corridor’s broader
network to demonstrate the regional
competencies to potential customers.
Spokane International Airport’s Director
of Marketing and Public Affairs, Todd
Woodard, confirmed how passionate the
region’s airport is in support of aero-
space industry growth in the region. “As
an organization, Spokane International
Airport is a strong believer in regional-
ism and knows that collaboration ben-
efits the entire Spokane-Coeur d’Alene
region. In 2005, we began participating
to organize the regional aerospace
cluster. We were drawn to participate
because of interstate value proposi-
tion. Aerospace businesses provide the
sustaining family-wage jobs that need to
be supported through worker training,
regulatory relief, and research and de-
velopment initiatives.