Fresh off a trade mission to France, Gov. Mike Kehoe says the focus was to boost business for Missouri’s aerospace industry.
“The focus was the Paris Air Show,” said Kehoe. “It’s a fantastic display of our aerospace industry and obviously Missouri’s economy has a very large footprint of aerospace manufacturers and more importantly suppliers. So we went over there to meet with Boeing and other companies that are in the aerospace industry.”
The Paris Air Show is the largest trade event in the aerospace industry.
Proud to represent Missouri at the Paris Air Show, the largest trade event in the aerospace industry.
Our goal here is to bring jobs and investment back to the Show-Me State.
With the recent announcement from President Trump that @Boeing in St. Louis will build the… pic.twitter.com/V0zjvQ5ZYm
— Governor Mike Kehoe (@GovMikeKehoe) June 17, 2025
Kehoe told Missourinet he expects deals to be made as a result of the trip.
“Mainly with companies that are looking to come in here as a result of our aerospace industry and a few other industries that we talked to over there. We had quite a few very productive meetings where we have ongoing conversations and projects working with some companies that want to move to Missouri,” he said.
They met with government leaders, diplomats, and business executives to promote the state.
According to Missouri Partnership, a public-private economic development organization, the state has more than 100 aerospace manufacturers, including St. Louis-based Boeing.
“Boeing, with its new contract with the F-47 and an existing announcement with the new trainer, the G7A, is going to be our largest employer in the state within three or four years. The production of those global defense strike fighters is very important to us,” says Kehoe.
Our Missouri delegation visited Schneider Electric’s headquarters in France this week. We recently celebrated the company’s $73.6 million investment to expand its Columbia facility, which will bring over 240 new jobs to Mid-Missouri.
We’re proud of @SchneiderElec‘s confidence in… pic.twitter.com/jMg0imYbZG
— Governor Mike Kehoe (@GovMikeKehoe) June 18, 2025
The governor’s office said Missouri exported $266 million in goods to France in 2024, becoming the state’s 13th largest export destination. Among the Missouri goods in highest French demand include chemicals, navigational/medical control instruments, and electrical equipment and components.
The trade mission to France was paid for by the Hawthorne Foundation, a Missouri nonprofit organization.
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