STATE KICKS SUPPORT UP A NOTCH TO GROW MANUFACTURING ECONOMY
A program to help small and midsize Wisconsin manufacturers develop an export program and fast-track international sales is getting high marks from its first class of graduates.
Posted: September 1, 2010
ExporTech, a new program to help small and midsize manufacturers develop an export program and fast-track international sales, is getting high marks from its first class of graduates.
?ExporTech helped us tap a wealth of resources on all aspects of the exporting process,? said Neil Karolek, president of TLX Technologies, LLC, a Waukesha-based manufacturer of custom solenoids with 30 employees. Karolek participated in the ExporTech pilot program this spring.
Offered by the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) and the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Bureau of Export Development (Madison, WI), ExporTech is designed to help small and midsize manufacturers develop or expand an export strategy in three months. A coach/mentor helps companies collect market data, identify target markets and create an international plan for profitable growth. A panel of successful exporting companies provides guidance and feedback. Up to ten non-competitive companies can join each session.
?Global markets offer terrific opportunities for Wisconsin manufacturers,? said Department of Commerce Secretary Aaron Olver. ?ExporTech has proven its worth in helping companies start or expand an export initiative." A new session of ExporTech kicks off in Milwaukee, WI, on Sept. 16 at Bentley World-Packaging, Ltd., 4080 North Port Washington Road. More information is available at WMEP's website.
Getting started in exporting can be daunting for smaller firms. ExporTech demystifies the process and gives manufacturers the resources and access to experts they need to hit the ground running. ?ExporTech brought a wide variety of resources together in a single place ? resources we did not have the time and manpower to locate and cultivate on our own,? said Tim Johnson, vice president of sales and marketing for Sturtevant-based Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery, Inc. The program provided the impetus and structure to help Spee-Dee build a viable export development strategy, he said.
EXPORTS FUEL GROWTH
With many of the fastest growing markets outside the U.S., exports are an excellent growth opportunity for state manufacturers. From 2005 to mid-2008 more than 50 percent of U.S. manufacturing growth came from exports, according to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). More than 95 percent of the nation?s manufacturing exporters are small and midsize firms, but less than one in every four small and midsize manufacturers are exporters. In Wisconsin, 20 percent of state manufacturing workers rely on exports for their jobs, according to 2008 data from the International Trade Administration. Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 8 percent of the state?s private-sector employment.
ExporTech is a joint program of the U.S. Commercial Service?s Export Assistance Centers (USEACs) and the NIST Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Twenty-nine states have used the program during the past three years. ExporTech offers detailed guidance to help small and midsize manufacturers create and execute an effective export strategy and offers information on issues ranging from banking to financing to freight forwarding and licensing.
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