RICHMOND - The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) today announced that Euclid Systems Corporation received the 2015 Commonwealth of Virginia Governor’s Award for Excellence in International Trade. The award was presented by Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones at the Virginia Conference on World Trade in Norfolk. Euclid System Corporation, headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, manufactures specialty contact lenses for the treatment of myopia (nearsightedness).

The Commonwealth of Virginia Governor's Award for Excellence in International Trade recognizes a Virginia business that excels in global trade. The recipient of this annual award has increased their international sales while promoting the best interests of its employees and surrounding community.

Euclid Systems Corporation has been a participant in VEDP’s International Trade programs since March of 2010. Since then, the company has increased its sales six-fold and more than tripled its number of employees. Euclid Systems participated in the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program in 2013. The VALET program assists companies in the Commonwealth that have firmly established domestic operations and are committed to international exporting as an expansion strategy. Currently, the VALET program has 50 companies as participants, and 200+ Virginia companies have graduated from the program.

Upon graduating from the two-year program, Euclid Systems Corporation reported a 200 percent increase in export sales.

Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones said, “I congratulate Euclid Systems Corporation on this prestigious award for international trade accomplishments. Euclid is a great company that is not only growing and generating revenue in new markets, but also providing a product that is changing people’s lives, including those of children. This is a wonderful Virginia success story, and we are proud that Euclid calls the Commonwealth home.”

Euclid Systems Corporation provides the leading premium brand of contact lenses sold in China. It is the only brand in the country that has approval from both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and China’s FDA equivalent. Euclid’s lenses are prescribed by major hospitals, leading university medical centers, and private clinics throughout China. In 2007, the company’s Ortho-K lenses were the first Ortho-K lenses, domestic or imported, to be approved by the Chinese FDA equivalent. Since 2005, Euclid has sold over 750,000 lenses worldwide.

“Euclid is honored to receive this prestigious award,” said Michael A. Ross, M.D., Chairman and CEO of Euclid Systems Corporation. “We could not have grown this fast or as professionally without the help of the VEDP team and the VALET Program. Virginia has a skilled and involved team to help small companies spread their wings around the world."

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, a marketing organization, was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1995 to encourage, stimulate, and support the development and expansion of the economy of the Commonwealth. To accomplish its objectives of promoting economic expansion within the Commonwealth, the Partnership focuses its efforts on business recruitment, expansion and international trade. VEDP offers numerous programs to assist Virginia companies sell into the global marketplace.