Bespoke Export Support

Virginia Offers Best-in-Class Export Assistance for Companies' Complete Life Cycle

Exporting can be a strong strategy for connecting companies with demand or diversifying their market bases to better weather economic conditions. However, the export process also carries a tremendous range of unknowns. More so than just communication challenges and compliance hurdles, there’s the question of how to find the right opportunities among millions of potential customers.

Gatekeeper Security, Inc. used VEDP funding to exhibit at trade shows in Germany and Singapore.

The good news for Virginia businesses is that they don’t have to answer these questions alone. VEDP supports more than $500 million in export sales from Virginia-based companies each year through its range of resources dedicated to helping companies navigate international trade.

“Our decades of international trade expertise are available to help companies export and grow their international sales faster, more efficiently, and at a lower cost than if they did it on their own,” said VEDP Vice President, International Trade Stephanie Agee.

Most Extensive Trade Development Offerings of Any State in U.S.

• Global Defense Program (GDP)

• International Market Research

• State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Grant

• Trade Missions and Shows

• Trade Show Program

• Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET)

• Export Publications & Training 

• Regional Export Program

• Global E-Commerce Program

Simplifying Global Sales

The challenge for many companies is knowing where to start. “A lot of companies think they have to go out there and start looking for business themselves, then they get timid or pull back because they’re not sure of the opportunity,” said Chris Millar, CEO of Gatekeeper Security, Inc.

The Northern Virginia-based provider of intelligent inspection and border security systems turned to VEDP to help jumpstart its export business. Millar added: “VEDP does a great job in providing the certainty that companies need to go forward.”

VEDP provides a wide range of resources to support companies in identifying international opportunities. These diverse offerings ensure resources are available for companies at every stage of their development.

Gatekeeper, which has relied on export business for up to 90% of sales at various times in its nearly 20-year history, sits on one end of that life cycle. At the other end are companies like Floral Genius. The Shenandoah Valley-based manufacturer of sustainable metal flower holders began exporting on a small scale in 2018, shortly after it was acquired by sisters Stephanie Duncan and Jessica Hall, and began seeing larger orders from foreign floral shops, leading the company to seek out VEDP’s Global E-Commerce Program late last year.

Gatekeeper Security, Inc. used VEDP funding to exhibit at trade shows in Germany and Singapore.

The program supports companies with online business development tools that simplify the export process. Companies in the program can receive up to $10,000 in reimbursements for export-related expenses, including internationally tailored marketing, from Google ads to online shopping cart features that support international orders.

The result, Duncan says, is a more streamlined process that simplifies shipping and export compliance for the internal team while also creating a smoother customer experience. “It’s empowered me to really go after that B2C customer,” Duncan said. “This is a whole new way for me to lift my business.”

A Deeper Dive Into Exports

Companies that are ready to dig deeper into export expertise tend to gravitate toward the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program. This exclusive two-year international business acceleration program provides businesses with up to $30,000 in reimbursements for export-related expenses and a wide array of professional services provided by private-sector partners, along with assistance in developing and implementing an international sales strategy.

VALET companies include those looking to take exports to the next level and companies like Chantilly-based MAC Aerospace Corp., which has been selling aircraft logistics solutions internationally for much of its 30-year history. In the 1990s, the company utilized support from the U.S. Department of Commerce to participate at expensive international trade shows and then discovered a similar Virginia offering. In 2014, that support expanded when MAC secured a spot in VALET.

“Through VALET, VEDP did a lot of research to help us find partners in overseas markets,” said MAC Aerospace President and CEO Jay Rodriguez. VALET participation also covered the cost of trade mission participation, where company representatives could connect with potential partners in person. Those resources, Rodriguez said, have been invaluable in helping the company promote itself farther afield than had been previously possible.

MAC Aerospace used VALET assistance to exhibit at Expodefensa 2019 in Bogotá, Colombia.

In-Country Connections

Trade missions are a boots-on-the-ground solution for connecting with vetted potential partners or customers in new markets. In a trade mission, VEDP representatives might escort a small number of company representatives to an international destination to meet face to face with prequalified potential customers.

“With trade missions, you generally get about 10 quality appointments over five days, which can quickly lead to revenues,” says Jeff Spink, CEO of Analytics Corp., a chemical analysis lab based in Ashland that parlayed trade missions to South America into long-term partnerships and a new facility in Brazil.

These big connections don’t necessarily happen right away. In many countries, the expectation may be for several face-to-face meetings to take place to build trust. “I think the key to export is being patient,” said Amit Kapoor, president and CEO of First Line Technology, a manufacturer of disaster preparedness and emergency response equipment with headquarters in Fairfax County and a manufacturing facility in Stafford County.

First Line was “scattered all over the place,” Kapoor said, in building its export base before connecting with the state’s resources. It wasn’t until its first state-supported trade mission to the Middle East that the company gained the insight needed to crack into exports.

Kapoor likens the trade mission meetings to speed dating, as a number of introductions are made over the span of a few days. However, he learned quickly that these initial contacts were laying the groundwork for relationships with potential distributors and customers.

His patience paid off, with strong success in that Middle Eastern market coming two years after that first meeting. Shortly after completing VALET and using its resources to tailor corporate marketing materials for an international audience, First Line won a contract in Australia that strengthened its position there and in Singapore.

Resource and Compliance Support

Fairfax County-based consulting firm Dynamis had a similar experience. After the 2016 Brussels bombings, the Belgian government contracted with the company to provide a platform for their national crisis management system. However, due to the sensitive nature of the software, Belgium wanted a domestic subsidiary managing the contract after its implementation.

Through VALET, Dynamis connected with American and Belgian attorneys and accountants who could help the manufacturer navigate tax laws in both countries and the movement of currencies across borders while helping with translation.

“That contract is worth a little over a million a year, and we won that in large part because of the support from VALET and VEDP,” Dynamis Vice President, International Dave Klain said. “Within our two-year window of the VALET program, we more than doubled our international sales.”

A Resource for Every Need

For many companies, the international trade resources available through VEDP provide a strong starting point to recognizing their blind spots.

“Without VALET, we would have literally been forced to start Googling to try to find law firms and accounting firms in Belgium,” Klain said.

It’s all too easy for companies to miss an opportunity. That’s why these business owners advise companies considering exporting to begin by reaching out to a VEDP representative.

“You can waste a lot of time and a lot of money knocking on the wrong door,” Millar said. “If you go [international] without a plan, you can get lost in the maze and miss an opportunity or get fooled into believing something that’s just not real.”