BISMARCK – North Dakota Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple has presented a Washington man with an honorary North Dakotan award for helping increase the state’s export volume.
During a trade mission to Taiwan in June, David Conrad, senior director of business development for Goodrich Cargo Systems, helped a West Fargo aviation company land an aircraft repair contract valued at about $1 million, Dalrymple said.
Conrad, of Everett, Wash., participated in the trade mission, representing Goodrich’s Jamestown, N.D., plant. During the trade mission, Conrad introduced Mid-America Aviation President Tom Kenville, of West Fargo, N.D., to key officials in the Asian aircraft industry.
Kenville said the introductions enabled him to secure an aircraft service contract valued at about $1 million in the first year of the deal and as much as $3 million in the second year.
“It is collaborative efforts such as these that enable North Dakota to diversify its economy and increasingly participate in the global marketplace,” Gov. John Hoeven wrote in a letter to Conrad.
Increasing international business among North Dakota’s aviation companies is helping to grow the industry and state economy, North Dakota Trade Office Executive Director Susan Geib said.
A recent study shows that North Dakota’s aviation industry and airport system now exceeds $1 billion in economic impact and provides 10,902 jobs. The study, released earlier this month, was prepared by Flint Communications and Akerson Marketing Research, Inc. of Fargo.
Dalrymple presented Conrad with an honorary North Dakotan award during a short ceremony Aug. 29 in the Capital atrium in Bismarck. Department of Commerce Commissioner Shane Goettle, members of the North Dakota Trade Office staff and Jamestown-based Goodrich officials attended the ceremony.