Building on the success of recent trade missions, the Council of Great Lakes Governors led a trade mission to South Africa from February 19-24, 2007. A delegation of 20 companies from New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin visited South Africa’s three largest urban centers-Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Some mission delegates also visited Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius, Malawi and Zambia.

The Council of Great Lakes Governors South Africa Trade Office (CGLG-SATO) arranged one-on-one appointments with distributors, agents, and other contacts for each company to help them establish export leads, identify potential distributors and sign new sales agreements.

A series of networking events were held throughout the week including a reception in Johannesburg sponsored by SABMiller, a networking event with U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Eric Bost, and even a thrilling Harley Davidson Pillion ride through Cape Town.

Mission participant Mark Kelley, Sales Director of Crown Battery in Freemont, Ohio, said,  “Our experience proved to be a positive one as we identified a market potential of $25-35 million. The quality and caliber or the appointments and contracts was very productive in making this a success for our company.”

In 2006, the Great Lakes States exported $1.7 billion into the South African Customs Union, which accounts for over one third of the total United States exports to the region.  CGLG-SATO Director, Richard Zurba said “South Africa is defined as a developing market and a developed market, which can benefit American companies.  For example, the region is a fast adopter of new, innovative and high-tech imports.  American technological innovations combined with a currently low U.S. dollar allows American companies to compete favorably against domestic and international competition in that market.  South Africa’s economy has been experiencing rapid growth and business and consumer confidence, as well as the stock market, have been at record highs.”

The Council’s South Africa Trade Office opened in 1999 and has served almost 700 companies from the Great Lakes States. For more information on the services of CGLG-SATO, please contact cglg@cglgsa.org.

The Council led a 22-member delegation on a week-long trade mission to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, in May, 2006.

The Mission’s goal was to assist small to medium-sized Great Lakes companies export goods and services to Australia. Currently, Council member States export $3.4 billion annually to the Australia region.

Increasingly many U.S. companies are taking advantage of the recent U.S./Australia Free Trade Agreement, which eliminated 99 percent of tariffs on U.S. manufactured exports to Australia.

The delegation included representatives from 15 companies from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  These companies encompass a broad range of sectors including technology, industry, food, biotechnology, medicine and agriculture.

The Council’s Australia and New Zealand Trade Office organized extensive market research and scheduled individualized business meetings for all participants.

Delegates also benefited from a roundtable business briefing in Sydney and a networking reception in collaboration with AMCHAM and Invest Victoria. The reception provided an opportunity for delegates to promote their products and services to representatives of the Victorian business community in an informal setting.

Australia Trade Mission Generates Sales

JF Magic from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania uses fiber optic technologies in animations applied to advertising boards, banners and general promotional products. Miko Green, JF Magic CEO said the mission was a success. She said, “We could not have made the cold calls to get the meetings with the same level of people we met, had we tried to set up meetings on out own.”

JF Magic has completed project requests from five companies in Australia resulting from the meetings coordinated by the Council’s office in Sydney, and the company also made a sale to Papermoon Pty Ltd in Sydney as a result of the mission.

BOC Water Hydraulics Inc. from Salem, Ohio signed a distributor agreement with Kempe Engineering Services in Victoria to represent their products across Australia after BOC’s Todd Olson participated in the mission. BOC designs, manufactures and supports a full line of premier water hydraulic components. The company is known for its high-pressure water applications within the primary metals industry. Their products range from cartridge-type valves to highly durable steel-on-steel cylinders.

KDH Technologies of Johnstown, Pennsylvania is currently in the final stages of contract negotiations with Marine Equipment International (MEI) of Sydney. KDH manufactures ports security sonar systems and personal body armor. Following their meeting in Sydney, MEI expressed strong interest in acting as KDH’s distributor in Australia and an agreement is expected in the new future. MEI has already identified initial interest in KDH’s body armor from Australia’s Defense Material Organization, whose mission is to acquire and sustain equipment for the Australian Defense Force.  MEI also plans to showcase KDH’s equipment at the Land Warfare Conference in Australia in October.

Following their May visit, Bionix Development Corporation from Toledo, Ohio signed an agreement with Aurora BioScience in Sydney establishing them as Bionix’s exclusive distributor within Australia (except Western Australia), New Zealand, and the South Pacific Islands. Bionix was established in 1984 and develops and markets innovative medical products and medical technologies, including single-use medical devices, radiation therapy and prosthetic solutions.

CGLG MISSION TO
ARGENTINA, BRAZIL AND CHILE
OCTOBER, 2004

The Council led a successful trade mission to Buenos Aires, Argentina; São Paulo, Brazil; and, Santiago, Chile from October 24-29, 2004.  18 small and medium sized companies took part in this mission geared to identify and secure export opportunities from the Great Lakes region to South America.

Participants hailed from Indiana, New York, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin--representing a wide variety of business sectors including medical equipment, environmental control, packaging and industrial machinery.

Council staff and State economic development officials accompanied the group, working in partnership with the Council’s shared trade offices in each country.  This team provided mission participants with customized agent/distributor searches and arranged one-on-one meetings with potential buyers and business partners.
         
In addition to making important business contacts, participants met with key government officials including the U.S. Ambassador to Argentina and senior staff from the U.S. Department of Commerce.  These meetings focused on current economic and political conditions in order to prepare the companies to do business in the South American market.
         
Participants reported making many new contacts with potential partners, distributors and buyers.  Morrice Blackwell, Application Engineering Manager for Badger Meter, said of the mission, “The meetings that were put together for us were of great value to our future business in South America.”