As they say, when it rains it pours and, when it comes to economic development and business recruitment, Guilford County and the surrounding area have been going gangbusters.

With so much success in attracting new business to the county and the region in the last several years, you might think that those trying to draw businesses here would take a breather ­– however, that’s anything but the case.

The megasite at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) is one prime example.  The airport is in the process of creating a 1,000-acre megasite that has already landed some big fish including Boom Supersonic.

However, despite a string of recent successes, PTIA Executive Director Kevin Baker just made a big journey out west to recruit even more aviation and aeronautics companies that need easy access to an airport to conduct their business.

From Tuesday, Oct. 17 to Thursday Oct. 19, Baker attended the National Business Aviation Association’s Las Vegas Business Aviation Convention and Annual Expo (NBAA-BACE), which is the world’s largest business aviation event where airport officials like Baker get a chance to rub shoulders with other aviation players.

Baker said his goal there was “to find some more companies to locate at PTI.”

The conference in Las Vegas billed itself as “the ultimate opportunity to interact with thousands of dedicated and visionary individuals and explore technologies that are driving the excitement, safety and sustainability of aviation.”

So, it was a target-rich environment for Baker as he sought out more aviation companies for PTIA.   Baker said it was a very worthy trip and he hopes that some new business for his airport will come out of it.

“It was a really valuable opportunity to be able to meet with some key companies we’d love to see as new tenants,” he said.

Meanwhile, he added, when arriving back home, it was also great to see the  recent groundbreaking Marshall USA, and to see Boom Supersonic moving along.

“The Boom Supersonic building looks like it’s done, but it’s not,” Baker said.

He told the Rhino Times earlier this year, before he went to the conference, that PTIA was in contact with about a dozen companies – and he felt certain that some of those would pick PTIA as their new home.

In the meantime, Guilford Technical Community College is getting started on a new $50 million plus aviation campus to help train future workers.

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