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Moncton's APEX Industries Inc.'s are now following up with contacts they made at a premiere international aerospace event in England last week.

The Moncton-based company was one of 20 Atlantic Canadian aerospace companies who went to the Farnborough International Airshow along with 1,400 other exhibitors form 39 countries.

"We met eight potential new customers that want to do business with us as they are looking for capabilities that APEX has because of industrial regional benefits or because they are expanding in their own area," said Keith Donaldson, APEX's director of sales and business development.

The aerospace division of APEX manufactures precision components for rotary-engined helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. They supply their products to other component manufacturers and their products are assembled to larger structures.

Donaldson said a potential opportunity for growth would be to partner with Embraer, a current supplier of planes to Air Canada. He said they cannot get the manufacturing work done and are looking to North America for aerospace manufacturing services.

For Donaldson and his company, the opportunity to attend the conference allowed him to talk with Canadian Trade Commissioners from all over the world and those who work specifically in the aerospace industry. This is the fourth year APEX has attended the conference, which alternates between Farnborough and Le Bourget in France.

In terms of growth, Donaldson said the company is starting to do small assemblies and more complicated assemblies to attract more customers.

The aerospace and defence industry employs more than 10,000 workers in Atlantic Canada. Nationally, it is a $22 billion industry.