Ken Foote of Transupport in Merrimack and Don Tyler of Corfin Industries in Salem are Paris-bound, along with three other New Hampshire aerospace and defense related companies, as well as six Vermont companies and one from Maine. Together, they’ll be in the Best of New England booth at the US Pavilion.
The International Paris Air Show is held every other year; the Farnborough International Air Show is held in the other years.
It’s not often we can invoke Tom Cruise in the No Bull Business Blog, so when we can, we do.
It’s the same as if five New Hampshire companies were getting ready to attend the world’s oldest and largest aerospace and defense trade show … when we can, we do.
The Paris Air Show begins one week from today and five companies – Corfin Industries of Salem; New England Wire Technologies of Lisbon; RdF Corp. of Hudson; Tech Resources Inc. of Milford and Transupport of Merrimack – will be part of the Best of New England booth at the US Pavilion, joining seven companies from Maine and Vermont. Together, they will bring visibility to the region that has the capability and capacity to serve these fast growing sectors.
The Best of New England booth is made possible through the State Trade Export Promotion program, funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
We’d like to introduce you to them, beginning with Tech Resources Inc.
Tom Cruise has a cameo.
Watch throughout the week for the Paris Air Show Minute.
The State Export Initiative grant program provides up to $500 per company in cash reimbursement to qualified businesses to offset a portion of the qualifying expenses associated with export promotion activities. This matching grant allows them to receive reimbursement of up to 50 percent of qualified costs.
These funds have encouraged businesses to explore exporting and have aided many in participating in export-related activities at half the price, like Heron Point Seafood of Newmarket. Because the grant extends to businesses that have agricultural-based ingredients, from beer to beauty products, they also qualify for the program.
“This grant helped fund our participation in a major food show in China last fall that allowed us to meet some 40 new potential customers, some of whom we have already made sales to,” said Dave Jermain, sales manager for Heron Point. “The reimbursement is also supporting a sales trip to Japan later this summer to help us strengthen our relationships with existing customers and meet with new potential customers, as well as translation of our product brochure.”
So, you’re probably thinking – what’s the catch? Is it really that easy?
The program is a three-step process. A two-page application outlines the export related activity and how participating will allow the business to grow. If approved, the reimbursement of 50 percent of the receipts is made, up to $500.
This program is also in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture and agriculture-related businesses across the state have taken advantage of this opportunity.
Jill Robbins
HomeFree of Windham, which makes allergy friendly products, was awarded reimbursement for participation in a costly trade show, which president Jill Robbins said would have been costly for her small business.
The CHFA West trade show, in Vancouver, Canada, is the largest trade show for the natural health and organics industry.
“I applied and submitted my receipts after attending and they qualified to receive the maximum reimbursement,” she said. “This enabled me to make other investments in the company.”
The ITRC is still accepting applications for this program. Whether your business is just getting started or is already exporting to several markets, we are eager to help you increase you export sales and continue to grow internationally.
For guidelines and application packet, contact the ITRC; email ellie.white@dred.state.nh.us or call the ITRC at (603)-271-8444.
The issue of export control is on the mind of many small and medium-sized business owners here in the Granite State. While they know of the world of opportunity in markets around the world, they also know that, depending on the kind of products they want to sell abroad, the jump overseas can be complicated.
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, hosted the Granite State Export Controls Forum, connecting Granite State small business owners with a senior State Department official to discuss new ways to help New Hampshire businesses grow overseas.
While the state’s exports are running about 14 percent ahead of last year, Shaheen noted that “there is a huge opportunity for small businesses to take advantage of exporting” and leverage an inter-connected world to create jobs in New Hampshire.
Gottemoeller
Shaheen
About 75 people attended this morning’s event, including business owners and employees, attorneys and legislators and they are eager to learn more about President Obama’s Export Control Reform Initiative, a push to end what Shaheen described as “complex and antiquated” restrictions on exports and bring common-sense to the system of export controls.
She called for “the government to help, not hinder, New Hampshire companies reaching into foreign markets” and stressed the need for export controls that are relevant, timely and simple.
Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller also spoke of the need to reform the current system and make it easier for American companies, including those in New Hampshire’s defense industry, thrive in a global economy.
Why is this important? In 2012, the Granite State’s total exports reached $3.5 billion. In the first quarter of this year, they have surged 14 percent and there is increased interest in international markets, in large part because of programs like the State Trade Export Promotion (STEP) grants, which have helped scores of businesses explore or expand sales overseas.
Reform of export controls means more economic growth and progress for New Hampshire businesses trying to access foreign markets. For small and medium-sized businesses, the mission of creating a 21st century export control system that works for them is essential.
Shaheen and Gottemoeller vowed to continue advocating for these changes and stressed the need for the private sector to weigh-in as the reform continues.
ITAR and EAR reform implementation will be explored at a training seminar hosted by the International Trade Resource Center from 9 am to noon on June 6 at the Department of Resources and Economic Development.
To register, visit www.exportnh.com online or call (603) 271-8444.
Red-eye trade missions. New businesses moving in to the Granite State. Advanced Manufacturing Week. Let’s jump right into what’s happening in New Hampshire’s economic development scene.
Trade missions are happening … two of them. We’re calling them ‘red-eye’ because they will be quick, focused and productive.
The first one, aimed at the health technologies sector, lands in Mexico City on April 23, in time for the Mexico Health IT Business Development Conference. You’ll attend that and have customized matchmaking appointments with Mexican business leaders before heading home on April 25.
The second one heads to Rome on June 24-25 and is specific to the aerospace, defense safety and security sectors. Those dates happen to be on the tail of the Paris International Air Show (and several New Hampshire companies are planning to attend), but you don’t need to be taking part in the air show to participate.
Advanced manufacturing has been a buzz word as we talk about New Hampshire’s economy, which is not surprising, since we have a rich tradition in producing goods the country, and the world, needs.
“This will be a fun opportuntiy for people to get inside these high-tech companies and see what they do,” said Carmen Lorentz, the executive director of the BEDC. “Many people don’t have direct link to manufacturing today, so we wanted to given the community a chance to get to know these companies and see for themselves what great career opportunities they offer.”
What a great idea. Go check out your local manufacturers – they do good things.
Vapotherm, which makes innovative respiratory products and services, relocated from Stevensville, Md., to Exeter and plans to hire about 40 new employees this year. P.A.T Products is relocating its corporate headquarters from Bangor, Maine to the Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth.
Lorna Colquhoun
Communications Director
NH Division of Economic Development
All sorts of good, interesting and useful news is crossing our desk this week, so without further adieu:
Hats off to the Hannah Grimes Center over in Keene, which received the first Champion in Action award of 2013, presented by Citizens Bank and WMUR-TV, in the category of strengthening communities. The prize includes a $35,000 grant.
Hannah Grimes Center: Champion in Action
Hannah Grimes, for which the center is named, was born in 1776 in Keene and lived on a farm in neighboring Roxbury. What she and her family could not produce on their land, they bought and bartered for from friends, keeping the 18th century economy moving and growing.
With her life as inspiration, the organization bearing her name began in 1997 as a retail marketplace for local products. More than 15 years later, it includes a business incubator providing office space for new and emerging businesses to start, grow, thrive and move out on their own.
Hannah Grimes’ Entrepreneurship Program is a six-month intensive program focusing on raising current businesses to the next level of operation. Graduates of the program report an average sales increase of 68 percent in one year.
The original Hannah Grimes Marketplace continues to grow and now supports more than 270 local artisans, cooks and farmers. The center recently established a partnership to strengthen and support the area’s growing regional food system, which will help improve farm income, create jobs in the food production industry, and stimulate economic productivity and food self-sufficiency in the region.
The Champions in Action program was launched in 2002 by Citizens Bank and WMUR to support nonprofit organizations in their efforts in local communities.
Congratulations to everyone at Hannah Grimes.
We’ve been talking trade a lot here at the Division of Economic Development because there is so much interest in the opportunities the world over has for New Hampshire companies.
For companies that have made the leap overseas, the International Trade Resource Center has a terrific seminar coming up on Feb. 13, International Marketing: Putting Your Best Face Forward. It’s a full day of tips including how to increase website traffic and using social media in other parts of the world.
Cost is $95 and includes breakfast and lunch. Go ahead and click over to register here.
(We’ll wait for you to come back.)
It’s lights, camera, action next week for an Amherst company, which will be featured on the popular television series, World’s Greatest, which is produced by How2Media.
Vibrac is a small manufacturer marking its 53rd year and it makes the world’s most sensitive torque measurement instruments, used in aerospace, military, defense, medical, bearing and the automotive industry.
“Very importantly, they are not resting on their longevity,” said GordonFreeman, executive producer of the show. “They continue to launch new product lines of precision measurement instruments to help multiple industries. That makes them a company we like to feature on World’s Greatest. We think their story will be meaningful to our viewers.”
We think so, too. Click on the media link above to see where it will air near you.
We’re heading over to the 8th annual Small Business Day next Friday, Feb. 8. Brought to you by the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire, the half-day event will take a look at federal health care reform, financing strategies for your small business, the new LLC act and an update on policy issues from legislators.
Gov. Maggie Hassan will also attend.
Cost is $15 and you need to register. Call 224-5388×116 or click here.
As we’ve said here before, New Hampshire may not have a company that builds entire airplanes, but we do have companies that supply components used to construct them.
So it makes sense that there should be a Granite State presence at an aerospace trade show a short hop over the border — the international border.
And there was.
Five Granite State companies were part of theNew Hampshire delegation attending the Aero Montreal Global Supply Chain Summit this week, including Gov. John Lynch and Department of Resources and Economic Development Commissioner George Bald.
The group represented the largest contingent of any state and the only state to attend the summit from New England.
Aero Montreal is Quebec’s aerospace cluster, so it brings together the minds and associations of the sector. The summit brings together aerospace companies from around the world and the result is a whirlwind couple of days of seminars, networking and, most importantly, appointments with the decision makers at some of the biggest names in the air – Lockheed, Boeing, Bombardier.
“Sometimes it can take years to meet with the right people, but in this one trip, I’m meeting with people from Bombardier and Lockheed,” said Michael Barrett of Tech Resources in Milford, adding that meetings were arranged by Lynch and staff at the Division of Economic Development’s International Trade Resource Center. “We’re introducing a new product and looking at substantive growth.”
Jeff Stimson of Orion Wire in North Haverhill employs seven people at the company, which specializes in custom engineered wire and cable applications.
“We probably would not have been able to get our foot in the door and I don’t think we would ever meet the same level of people on our own,” Stimson said.
He, like the other Granite State companies represented, say the aim of attending the summit is to get more work and grow their businesses.
It’s the kind of domino effect that also includes hiring more workers.
The other companies represented included Axenics in Nashua, which employs 40 people; EPTAM Plastics of Northfield, with 108 employees and Corfin Industries of Salem, with about 80 workers.
The trade mission to the aerospace summit was underwritten by the State Trade and Export Promotion grant.
Earlier this week, we wrote about New Hampshire receiving nearly $300,000 in the second year of the STEP program, which is administered by the Small Business Administration.
Our International Trade Resource Center reached out to these companies to let them know about the summit. As the STEP program continues, there are a number of opportunities available for companies considering exporting their products, so if that’s you, reach out to the ITRC for more information.
Monday started off quite nicely, thank you, with the announcement that New Hampshire will receive nearly $300,000 for the second year of funding of the State Trade Export Promotion.
This money will be used just like the acronym says – to help small businesses here in the Granite State take a STEP toward exporting their products overseas.
The announcement, which included remarks from US Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Jeanne A. Hulit, the Small Business Administration’s Associate Administrator for Capital Access, was made at Axenics inNashua, a small manufacturer that makes specialized assemblies, clean piping products and gas systems. Right now, the company exports less than 10 percent of its annual sales, but it has worked with the International Trade Resource Center and made use of funding in the first year of the grant to investigate and increase its export potential.
“STEP is working for us,” said Haywood Schmidt, president of Axenics, who added that the 28-year-old company intends to grow over the next two years and create 35 new jobs.
Christopher Way, interim Director of the Division of Economic Development, said the STEP program, at the conclusion of its first year, “has provided a valuable infusion of assistance to small businesses and funding for state export programs.”
In the first year of the STEP program, 24 New Hampshirecompanies received assistance from the grant and in the second year, that will continue. Matching grants will be available to qualified businesses to offset the cost of export promotion, including tradeshow fees, translation of websites and developing marketing materials.
On Thursday, representatives of six New Hampshire companies, including Axenics, Corfin Industries of Salem, EPTAM Plastics of Northfield, Orion Wire of Haverhill, Tech Resources of Milford and Wall Industries of Exeter, head to Montreal.
Gov. John Lynch is leading the Aerospace and Tourism Trade Mission on Thursday and Friday, during which the Granite Staters will take part in the Montreal Aerospace Global Supply Chain Summit .
By stepping up to this mission, the participating companies will receive a wealth of information and make valuable connections that will, ultimately, open trade opportunities.
“Those of you familiar withNew Hampshire government know one thing – we don’t like to sit on the sidelines and our businesses have no interest in standing still while the global economy swirls around us,” Way said. “ This is why STEP is important.”
W.S. Badger Co., in Gilsum, NH, worked with the Office of International Commerce to research potential export markets.
Like many small business owners, Kathleen Johnson juggles everything from overseeing the manufacturing process to marketing her product, Lickity Bits.
Located up in the North Country town of Columbia, it caters to owners of horses by encouraging horses to accept bits. She has a niche product, but knows that she could grow … well … unbridled … especially outside the U.S.
“As a small business owner, it is a daunting task trying to navigate through international markets that may be available,” Kathleen said.
That’s where the Office of International Commerce stepped in and provided her with comprehensive information about a possible export market.
“We learned that Brazil is a potentially key market for us, since it has the third highest horse market worldwide and prospering economy,” she said.
The OIC received a grant from the Eastern Trade Council to provide market research about the Brazilian market to her and several other businesses.
Why Brazil? The South American country has the seventh largest economy in the world, which is weathering the global economic challenges better than other parts of the globe. With a diversified economy and an expected surge in infrastructure improvements from now until the 2016 Summer Olympics being held there, U.S.exports are increasing rapidly.
“In a very competitive market, (the research) located one company interested in receiving information from WMI,” said Frank Morabito, the company’s international sales product manager.
Out in the Monadnock region, W.S. Badger Co. makes organic body care products, employing about 40 people at its new Gilsum plant. No stranger to the OIC, it has worked several times with the staff, most recently to help find a distribution partner in Russia.
“This service proved itself very valuable, as it allowed us to enter the market with a company that is screened and trusted,” said Stephanie Ritchie, Badger’s international accounts manager. “Our sales have grown slowly, but steadily, and we look forward to continuing to expand our business inRussia.”
If your company is considering exporting, you may be eligible for a grant that will pay for market research. The funds are part of the State Trade Export Promotion grant, which will, for qualifying businesses, provide these services at no cost. Available through the U.S. Commercial Service, the research usually costs between $500 and $750.
Orders for the services must be placed by mid-September. For more information, contact Kasim at 603-271-8444 or email Tina.Kasim@dred.state.nh.us.
The value of the relationship between the Granite State and its neighbor to the north was discussed Monday at the New Hampshire-Canada Trade Council forum.
Depending on where you may be in New Hampshire, the Canadian border can be just a stone’s throw away in far northern New Hampshire or less than 200 miles if you are at the border of Massachusetts. That makes Canada our neighbor and, according to speakers today at the New Hampshire-Canada Trade Council forum, a valuable one.
The daylong conference brought together officials from both sides of the 58-mile border, who talked about everything from the longstanding friendship there is between the two countries, to opportunities for small and women-owned businesses; the importance of student exchange and development of alternative energy. Speakers included Gov. John Lynch, US Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Canada Consul General Patrick Binns.
How important is Canada? Nearly 40,000 jobs in the Granite State are dependent on trade with Canada. In 2011, New Hampshire sold $650 million worth of goods over the border. As of May, the total value of our exports was $288 million, making it our largest export market this year. The primary goods sent north include industrial machinery, wood and wood products, electrical machinery and medical-related instruments.
“We may have slowed down because of the turmoil of the economy in the past few years, but this is a good time for us to renew this relationship,” he said. “We need to understand what we both need. This won’t happen in just a few months, but it will take time.”
