MARPA has an impressive lineup of presenters on the event agenda for the 2026 MARPA Conference, held from November 16-18 at the Westin Seattle. The agenda includes several concurrently-held workshops for November 17th. Learn more about these inspiring workshop sessions, featuring presenters offering expertise and perspectives that can create opportunities to support your business. Workshops are open for all registered conference attendees, and space is each is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Learn more about the Conference workshops below:
Tariff Mitigation Strategies: Foreign Trade Zones – Could Foreign Trade Zones help your business reduce tariff costs? In this workshop, MARPA Associate Counsel Clara Greceanu explains how FTZs work and explores practical applications for aircraft parts manufacturers, PMA suppliers, and air carriers. Learn how Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) can help aviation businesses manage import duties, improve cash flow, and strengthen supply chain efficiency. Discover strategies that may help your organization better manage tariffs and international trade costs.
“PMA 101”– Gain practical insight into the regulatory requirements that affect PMA approvals and the responsibilities of manufacturers and operators. Led by Mark Giron, Branch Manager (AIR-630), Federal Aviation Administration, and Pat Markham, VP Technical Services, HEICO Aerospace, this workshop provides an overview of the FAA’s PMA approval process, regulatory requirements, and practical considerations for aircraft parts manufacturers and operators. Attendees will gain a better understanding of the requirements for obtaining and maintaining PMA approvals, navigating FAA guidance, and ensuring continued compliance throughout a part’s service life.
IATA Parts Sourcing Resource – How to improve access to and awareness of PMA parts and other alternative solutions? Chris Markou of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) takes you through a workshop that will explore ways to improve visibility into and access to searching for PMA parts and alternative-to-OEM solutions. There will be discussion focused on increasing airline awareness, addressing questions about these parts through a structured approach, and identifying opportunities to improve the accuracy and timeliness of the FAA PMA database.
AI for Engineering and Operations: Practical Ways to Unlock Capacity – This practical workshop will show how today’s AI tools can already help with everyday work. BlackOrbit Founder & CEO Samir Bounab Toledano leads this workshop about using AI tools today, and beyond. “Productivity gains in U.S. manufacturing have remained almost flat since 2008. Looking deeper, US manufacturing invests half the amount than the rest of the OECD invests in digital solutions. The result is that much of the work surrounding production still depends on scarce, under-equipped engineering and operations capacity. For PMA manufacturers, that shows up in documentation, technical information, NPI, internal coordination, and small delays that stack up and slow down entire programs. This practical workshop will show how today’s AI tools can already help with everyday work: reviewing documents and logs, extracting information and preparing reports, processing large amounts of unstructured data, accelerating document production, or extract signal from the noise in data heavy environments. We’ll then look at the bigger opportunity: cutting the coordination tax across engineering, operations, and more generally office floors. Attendees will leave with concrete ideas they can apply the next week, along with a simple framework to identify where AI can free capacity, reduce delays, and help their organization handle more without simply adding headcount.”
We hope you’ll register and join us at the 2026 MARPA Conference in Seattle! Have questions about the Conference? Contact MARPA at +1.202.628.6777 or email MARPA@PMAparts.org.
