Global airshows act as a meeting place through which aerospace businesses can expand in collaboration with other industry partners, said Tom Kallman, the president and CEO of Kallman Worldwide.

“These events are portals to the markets that they serve,” said Kallman, who leads an international marketing and exhibition management firm headquartered in New Jersey.

He said his role at airshows such as that held in Bahrain in November is to “coordinate the activities of the US government, the OEMs and SMEs”.

‘An orchestra that somebody has to get playing’

He added: “It’s an orchestra that somebody has to get playing, and every country does it differently.”

Kallman Worldwide has affiliate offices in Washington, DC; Charleston, SC; Dallas and Houston, TX; Santiago, Chile; London, UK and Tokyo, Japan.

The company presently supports nearly 1,500 firms each year in destinations around the world, often in partnership with the US Department of Commerce and other federal and state government agencies.

Love of flying

Kallman Worldwide’s work with the aerospace industry grew out of Tom Kallman’s love of flying nurtured during four years at the US Air Force Academy.

A graduate of the Class of 1981, he went on to tally over 2,700 flying hours as a T-33 and F-15 instructor pilot over his nine-year tour of duty.
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