WICHITA (AP) – Aircraft maker Airbus says it plans to double the $12 million it now spends with U.S. suppliers.

Airbus America’s chairman Allan McArtor told representatives from 114 companies attending an aviation supplier conference Monday that his company is the largest export customer for the U.S. aerospace industry. He says 40 percent of what the company uses in their planes comes from U.S. companies.

McArtor was in Wichita with U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran to host the first Air Capital Supplier Summit.

The event comes just months after Airbus’ biggest competitor, Boeing, announced it planned to close its defense plant in Wichita.

Kansas’ aerospace industry encompasses more than 450 companies and accounts for more than 32,000 direct jobs. Airbus has an engineering center in Wichita where it employs more than 350 people.