Aug. 16--A small conference center tucked into Armstrong County's rolling hills on Friday hosted some of the world's largest defense- and security-related companies.

Now in its 10th year, the Armstrong County Regional Manufacturing Initiative, ARMTech, attracted companies such as Boeing, the Northrop Grumman and Bell Helicopter, along with not-so-well-known companies like Yarde Metals Inc., Dielectric Solutions LLC and Virtus Advanced Sensors.

At the trade show -- known as the ARMTech Showcase of Industry & Technology -- from Wednesday through Friday at the Belmont Complex in West Kittanning, big and small local and internationally recognized companies traded information and networked while looking to form buyer-vendor relationships.

"We get a number of quality exhibitors as we try to focus on aerospace, medical and advanced manufacturing categories," said Nicholas P. Caruso, director of Armstrong County Department of Planning & Development's Economic Development Division. "It's also a soft-sell for the county and for the region."

"This year, we have 78 exhibitors, in a space measuring 200 feet by 100 feet," Caruso said. "Exhibitors find value in being here."

ARMTech grew out of efforts by U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, who in 1999 established the Penn State University Electro-Optics Center at Northpointe, a planned mixed-use community in Armstrong County.

One of those major exhibitors was the Boeing Co. "We're a major defense contractor, and one of the obligations we have when we sign a contract is that we spread business around," said Paul T. Heilig, Boeing's legislative affairs director, based in Arlington, Va.

Heilig said Boeing officials always are talking with possible suppliers and subcontractors at shows like ARMTech, who will receive bid packages for Boeing projects and eventually, they'll win a bid.

John Dalrymple, president of precision manufacturer Hamill Manufacturing Co. of Penn Township, Westmoreland County, was an ARMTech exhibitor for the fourth year. He said his company's been successful on two fronts at the show.

"We find this is an excellent networking opportunity for us, and we've found both new suppliers and new business by being here," Dalrymple said.

On Friday, ARMTech was visited by a handful of foreign journalists on a familiarization, or fam tour, who were spending the week at various in-state sites.

Journalists from Australia, India, Japan and Switzerland, who primarily report on defense and security issues, were brought to Pennsylvania to interact with representatives from a number of defense and security-related companies and organizations.

The tour began in Philadelphia, then visited York County before stopping Thursday in Johnstown and at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University's CyLab, a research center focused on Internet security.

Italian journalist Marco Mongiello thought he was familiar with the United States because he'd grown up watching American movies and television programs.

Mongiello is gaining a new appreciation for Americans, and specifically Pennsylvanians. "I'm very impressed with Americans' efficiency, with the way they work," said Mongiello, who mans the Brussels office for Rome-based AGI Press Agency. "It's very interesting in how you've managed to reinvent yourselves." The Italian journalist was interviewed at CyLab.

The fam tour idea is to portray Pennsylvania as open, friendly and a good place to do business. The tour was sponsored by the Team Pennsylvania Foundation, the state Department of Community and Economic Development and regional partners, including the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

Jim Mentzer, spokesman for Team Pennsylvania, said positive articles about Pennsylvania from former foreign journalist visitors helped the state land Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa, which selected Philadelphia for its North American headquarters, and has built two manufacturing plants in the state, including one in Ebensburg, Cambria County.

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