Two-year export program provides resources to support international business expansion

RICHMOND - The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) today announced the acceptance of two Fairfax County companies, Harris Healthcare and Trident Systems Incorporated, into its two-year Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program. The VALET program assists exporters in the Commonwealth that have firmly established domestic operations and are committed to international exporting as a growth strategy. To participate, each business must meet both quantitative and qualitative selection criteria. Participating firms are chosen based on their dedication to growing export sales. To date, 304 Virginia companies have been accepted to participate in the VALET program.

“VALET has provided a vehicle for participating companies to reach global markets and grow their business on a global scale since 2002,” said VEDP President and CEO Stephen Moret. “The benefit of international trade to Virginia’s economy cannot be overstated, and I am confident that with a continued commitment to exporting, these businesses will see a strong return on investment in the coming years.”

Currently, the VALET program has 50 companies as participants. The program provides participating companies with export planning services and assistance from a team of experienced international service providers to help meet their international goals. These private sector service providers contribute essential expertise to assist companies in executing export plans and include attorneys, web designers, bankers, translators, accountants, and freight forwarders.

“The VALET program puts participating companies on the fast track to international business growth by connecting them with the necessary tools for successful international sales,” said Paul Grossman, VEDP Vice President of International Trade. “Since its inception in 2002, the program has worked with more than 300 businesses to accelerate their international sales growth. We are happy to welcome Harris Healthcare and Trident Systems Incorporated to VALET and look forward to working with them over the course of the next two years.”

The Commonwealth of Virginia exports more than $34 billion in goods and services annually. Exports of Virginia’s products and services to the world are vital to the growth of the Commonwealth, supporting more than 232,000 jobs and generating $2 billion in tax revenue. VEDP offers numerous programs to assist Virginia companies with selling in the global marketplace and has a network of international market research consultants covering more than 70 countries around the globe.

Harris Healthcare

Harris Healthcare provides award-winning healthcare software and services that improve the safety, quality, and efficiency of patient care. Harris Healthcare is comprised of multiple healthcare-focused business units that often come together as one, but also operate individually. Our goal is to deliver a broad spectrum of the best HIT software and services and make them interoperable—without the hassle inherent in multi-vendor solutions. For more information, please visit http://www.harrishealthcare.com

Trident Systems Incorporated

Trident Systems delivers innovative and affordable collaboration, C4ISR, and advanced RF solutions for crucial government and commercial needs, including unique applications of emerging technologies tailored to address customers’ mission critical requirements. Providing leading-edge solutions to every Military Service, the Intelligence Community, and a broad spectrum of government and industry partners, Trident Systems offers world-class products and services in the fields of multi-function RF technology, cross-domain, integrated command and control, and communications interoperability. For more information, please visit http://www.tridsys.com

Virginia Economic Development Partnership

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership 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.

For more information on the VALET Program, visit http://exportvirginia.org/services/programs-grants/