PAC Founders Going To London

BROOKSVILLE - First came the establishment of a workforce.

Now comes the recruitment of businesses.

The co-founders of Precision Alliance Co. are traveling 4,500 miles to attract more industry to Hernando County.

The alliance, commonly known as PAC, will have a booth at one of the world's largest aviation events - the Farnsborough International Airshow in London.

"The show is an opportunity to promote PAC on an international level to over 32 countries in machining, aerospace and defense," said PAC spokeswoman Carolyn De Los Santos.

Jeff Walz and Joe Selway own Eurotech, a machine tooling company in Brooksville. They formed PAC as a means to bring more industry to the area, particularly the Airport Industrial Park.

The industrial center off U.S. 41 continues to grow. Two more businesses recently announced a relocation or expansion there and more announcements are expected in the coming days and weeks, said Hernando County Office of Business Development spokeswoman Valarie Pianta.

Walz and Selway are working with Nature Coast Technical High School and Pasco-Hernando Community College to beef up the local workforce and get more students interested in a career in mechanics.

PAC hopes to have the education partnership established by the beginning of the 2009-10 school year, De Los Santos said.

The Farnborough airshow is expected to have more than 1,400 exhibitors and will run July 14-20. Walz and Selway are scheduled to fly July 3 to Europe.

At least two United Kingdom-based industries are meeting with PAC during the London trip. They already have shown interest in opening a new location in Brooksville, De Los Santos said.

While there, Walz and Selway will man the booth at the airshow and will attend Ambassador Robert Tuttless' reception for U.S. corporations.

They also will visit Technic Valley, France. The cluster of industries has provided PAC with a template.

PAC hopes to borrow many of its ideas from Technic Valley as it plans to establish a cluster of its own at the industrial park. Walz and Selway also will use the time to meet with the local Chamber of Commerce in Lyon, France, and try to lure more of the area's machine companies to Brooksville, De Los Santos said.