RIO DE JANIERO, Brazil - At one end of the exhibit hall at the Latin America Aerospace and Defense (LAAD) show is a stand for the Arizona Department of Commerce. Their banner had not yet arrived by the end of the first day of open exhibits, but the stand was topped with small Arizona flags that were like a "magnet" to LAAD visitors from Arizona, said Juan Toledo of Nivisys, a night vision systems company from Tempe, Ariz.
Arizona is the only U.S. state with a delegation at the show. The purpose is to give small and mid-size Arizona companies exposure they couldn't afford going it alone. It's also take advantage of the trade relationship between Arizona and Latin America, especially where Mexico, Arizona's biggest trading partner, is concerned, said Steve Sullivan, who runs the Arizona Trade Office for the state's Department of Commerce.
Nivisys makes night vision and thermal imaging products. The company exhibited with the Arizona Department of Commerce at a defense trade show in Chile last year and later signed contracts with the Chilean Army, Air Force and Navy, said Tom Horwath, vice president of business development for the company.
Sharing the space and the cost for a LAAD booth (Arizona's booth space cost about $8,000, Sullivan said) helps with marketing, and the state's Department of Commerce helps the company with logistics for the event, Horwath said.
"Our showing up to this stuff is to help our representatives" in the Latin American countries where they're stationed, Toledo of Nivisys said.
The other company featured at Arizona's booth was Galaxy International, which is looking for repair and maintenance work for electronics and parts on small military transport planes. By the end of the first day at LAAD, Galaxy had made a connection with Miami company Aeronautic Investments, which does repair work for the Brazilian military, Galaxy's president said.
"I didn't want to get anything second-hand in Arizona," Galaxy President Joe Arismendez said of his reason for coming to LAAD. "I wanted to come here and find out for myself."
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