Miss. earns Silver Shovel

Area Development Magazine has bestowed its 2nd Quarter 2014 its Silver Shovel award to Mississippi for area development in the state’s with less than 3 million residents category. The state was noted for having one of the better-performing economies in the Southeast with the creation of 6,300 new jobs since 2012; and more than $1B in private sector investment. Important to many advanced manufacturing industries, especially aviation and aerospace, is the use of composite materials to improve specific material properties and reduce weight. Aurora Flight Sciences of Columbus designs and builds aerospace vehicles, and recently opened a new $17M composites manufacturing facility. Raytheon’s Forest, Miss., plant produces radars for fighter jets and was also among the top 10 projects of the year, noted by the magazine, and having created 150 jobs with a $100M investment. (Source: Area Development Online 06/10/14)