Hodge upbeat on air show trip

Friday, July 3, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photo The Charles County delegation at the International Paris Air Show, with representatives of Martin-Baker and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. Charles County Commissioner Gary V. Hodge sits in a Martin-Baker ejection seat on display at the show, with Paul W. Comfort, who at the time was the Charles County administrator, left; Andrew Martin, head of business development at Martin-Baker; George Robertson, Charles County economic development director; and Robert Walker, assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Charles County Commissioner Gary V. Hodge was upbeat about his trip to Paris last month, telling the other commissioners in a meeting last week that the county's delegation to the Paris Air Show had "solid, significant" meetings with six companies.

Hodge (D) said Martin-Baker, the British ejection seat manufacturer which recently opened an office in La Plata and is the first company to commit to the energetics tech park in Bryans Road, introduced him, former County Administrator Paul W. Comfort and Economic development Director George Robertson to representatives of the six companies, which had worked or were working with Martin-Baker on projects.

"All six expressed [their intention] to visit Charles County as a follow-up," Hodge told the commissioners.

Hodge said the timing of the jaunt to the French capital could not have been better. New federal policies requiring foreign defense contractors to make an investment in the United States have foreign contractors searching for suitable areas. "A number of companies are looking for ways to align themselves with clients in the U.S," he said.