YOUR-VOICE

ERAU's BARRY BUTLER: The sky’s no limit for aerospace business in Volusia

Staff Writer
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
3D Material Technologies' new property on Fentress Blvd. in Daytona Beach, pictured on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. [News-Journal/Clayton Park]

The $348 billion global space economy keeps growing, yet all U.S.-based orbital launches last year took place at just three locations: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Wallops Island, Va., and the Cape Canaveral Spaceport – the United States’ most active spaceport. Vehicles launching from Florida’s Space Coast include the SpaceX Falcon 9 and United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V and Delta IV. Satellites and payloads also routinely head skyward from the Cape.

Volusia County, the northern gateway to Florida’s Space Triangle, is well-positioned to support the space economy on a larger scale. 

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That’s the conclusion of a new report, completed by consultants with Bryce Space and Technology, that offers a critical roadmap to aerospace business opportunities in the Space Triangle. This essential economic development guide will undoubtedly help spur job growth, thanks to Volusia County leaders who secured a grant from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to complete the report.

As an up-and-coming player in the global space economy, and a strategic lever for economic development along the I-4 corridor, Volusia County has a lot going for it. 

Volusia County’s advantages include its well-educated engineering workforce, established supply chains, strength in advanced manufacturing and prime airport real estate. In addition, the county – in alignment with the state, which established Space Florida as an economic catalyst – has clearly defined space industry as an economic development priority. Through Space Florida, innovative financing tools are available for large aerospace employers interested in setting up shop on the 322-acre tract south of Daytona Beach International Airport. 

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What would more aerospace business mean for Volusia County? Consider the economic footprint of two local players in the aerospace sandbox: 3D Material Technologies (3DMT) and Sauer Group. 

By leveraging 3D printing and metal additive manufacturing, 3DMT can swiftly turn design concepts into working metal components. The company, which specializes in short-run production for aerospace, defense, medical and industrial customers, currently employs about a dozen people. Last month, however, 3DMT was acquired by Aerojet-Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc., a leading supplier of propulsion systems for rockets and missiles that has more than 5,000 employees at 14 sites around the country, including 650 based in Orlando and West Palm Beach. 

The historic Sauer Group, dating to 1876, provides structural steel fabrication and installation for aerospace and other industries. In Volusia County, their Oak Hill operation specializes in building complex structural components such as platforms, flame deflectors, towers and more. Among Sauer’s many accomplishments, the company played a key role in adding the astronaut crew access structure to an active Atlas V launch pad at Complex 41. The company’s revenue was estimated to be $17.41 million as of January this year.

Increased Volusia County participation in the space economy could also give startup companies a boost. 

That’s a good thing because aspiring entrepreneurs can quickly turn into employers. Consider the example of Reamonn Soto, whose fledgling Sensatek Propulsion Technology company, operating out of Embry-Riddle’s Research Park, recently secured a $743,200 National Science Foundation grant, bringing his grand total in seed funds to nearly $1.5 million and allowing him to add jobs to Central Florida’s economy. Another Research Park entrepreneur, Scott Weintraub of Modularity Space, hopes to achieve similar success by leveraging advanced manufacturing and robotically assembled designs to make satellite systems more reusable. 

These and other businesses searching for a way into the Space Triangle’s booming space economy can find clues in the Bryce report. Future commercial space activity in Florida is likely to be affected by four major trends in the space industry, the report notes – the growing use of small satellites, NASA’s reliance on commercial crew and cargo, the expanding use of small satellite launch vehicles and the use of medium- and heavy-class launch vehicles. Further, the development of space vehicles that can be refurbished was cited by Bryce as a growing trend. 

Volusia County leaders recognize the growing opportunity that commercial space activity in and around the Cape Canaveral Spaceport represents for residents and businesses in our county. Team Volusia’s work is paying off in the form of more high-paying jobs. The Bryce report offers a blueprint for further growth as we collectively develop strategies to attract and sustain commercial space business. With the proximity, logistics, research, education and lifestyle advantages that Volusia County offers, we can build a compelling case for doing aerospace business here.

Butler serves as president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.