The cover of the May 30, 2011, edition of the Northern Nevada Business Weekly.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week in 2021, we will feature snippets of stories that published a decade ago to provide readers a 10-year perspective of business news in the region. This week’s stories first published in the May 30, 2011, edition of the NNBW.Cluster of corporate jet firms taking shape at airportFrom the scheduled airlines that support the tourism industry to the cargo aircraft that help generate distribution jobs, aviation companies and aerospace manufacturing are increasingly important pieces of the Northern Nevada economy.As such, the May 30, 2011, edition of the NNBW took an in-depth look at the sector and its impact on the region.In one cover story, executives of Reno-Tahoe International Airport believe they’re close to achieving a critical mass of companies that service corporate aircraft from across the West.And as that happens, they say the economic development activity on the airport is likely to begin spilling into other areas of the Reno-Sparks economy as suppliers follow the jet-maintenance companies into Northern Nevada.A larger infrastructure of suppliers and support services, in turn, may help draw more maintenance facilities. In fact, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada in recent months added aviation and aerospace to its list of target industries — promising sectors that can generate high-paying, high-skilled jobs for the region.— Page 1, by John Seelmeyer
Aerospace a growth industry for regionFrom their offices just outside the northwest corner of the Carson City Airport, employees of Click Bond Inc. can walk just a few steps to a waiting private jet that will take them to meetings with customers across the nation.Those meetings are becoming more common as Click Bond — one of the five largest private-sector employers in Carson City — opens new markets in the aviation, defense and transportation sectors worldwide.Click Bond isn’t alone. Aerospace manufacturing is among the strongest sectors of the Northern Nevada economy these days, and it’s getting more attention from economic development executives who believe the sector is likely to be an important pillar for the region.Statewide, employment in aerospace manufacturing more than doubled in the past decade. The sector in 2009 employed 2,810 in the state — largely in Carson City and Reno — compared with 1,290 in 2001.— Page 1, by John Seelmeyer
Cargo numbers: Recovery ahead
As a rough rule of thumb, Brian Pratte says, the economic impact of an air cargo flight is 10 times greater than the impact of a passenger flight.
“Those boxes didn’t move themselves,” says Pratte, director of air service and cargo development at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
And that translates into good news for the Northern Nevada economy as the amount of cargo handled at the airport during March increased more than 19 percent from a year earlier. In fact, cargo shipments through the airport have been up year-over-year for 14 consecutive months.— Page 1, by John Seelmeyer
