Ralph Page was already in the midst of a significant business transition when he decided to participate in a series of workshops that would help him develop an actionable exporting plan.
Page is president of Creative Micro Design Inc., one of five Delaware companies that participated in ExporTech, a nationally based exporting program that gives executive leaders like Page the opportunity to learn about global markets from industry experts and to work with a coach to craft their own global strategy.
ExporTech is sponsored in part by the Delaware Manufacturing Extension Partnership (DEMEP).
Page’s engineering and software-manufacturing company was about to streamline its operations to produce a single item: a pediatric breathing device that measures respiratory performance and sends real time information to a doctor’s iPad.
“We plan to have the product released by the end of the year,” said Page, whose company is located in Newark. He said he is working in conjunction with Nemours duPont Pediatrics on the concept. “We hope to release it in the U.S. first, but then quickly follow it up with the U.K., Germany, and France.”
Page said that before participating in ExporTech, his knowledge about navigating the global marketplace was limited. He credits the program with helping him identify comparably sized European markets as the best exporting targets for his product.
“They were also very good at looking at potential pitfalls and what we need to do to avoid them,” said Page.
The cost to participate in ExporTech is $3,000; a portion of that is reimbursed through a DEMEP Grant.
In the span of three daylong workshops, Page said he heard from experts in global finance, logistics, business law, and patent and intellectual property protection.
ExporTech was developed through the National Manufacturing Extension Partnership. According to officials, more than 608 companies nationwide have participated in the program since 2007.
DEMEP also works directly with businesses to offer training and support to improve quality, productivity, and profitability, which means meeting the desire of Delaware companies to go global, according to Executive Director Rustyn Stoops.
“It’s an area that’s been getting a lot of press lately,” said Stoops. “There are lots of great things happening at the right time.”
In March, Gov. Jack Markell announced the launch of the “Strategic Export Plan for the State,” which includes trade missions to key markets overseas and the exchange of information among Delaware exporters and state officials.
Markell noted that less than 1 percent of American businesses export and that 60 percent of those that export trade with just one company.
According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), Delaware exported more than $5.3 billion in goods and services to foreign markets in 2014. More than 1,600 small- and medium-sized businesses – most with fewer than 500 employees – exported goods from Delaware in 2013.
“This is a great opportunity to really help those Delaware companies ready to take that leap of faith in terms of expanding their markets internationally,” said David Mathe, export trade director for the state of Delaware. “ExporTech is a deep dive to help them develop an export plan from soup to nuts.”
Mathe said Stoops teamed up with Delaware’s World Trade Center and Small Business Association to identify companies like Page’s that might respond to a pitch about ExporTech.
The state’s top five export industries are chemicals, computer and electronic products, transportation equipment, machinery, and plastics and rubber products, according to the ITA.
Steve Hague, owner of PolarStar Engineering & Machine, hoped to develop an export plan to market his patented airsoft launching system, called the Fusion Engine.
The design uses high pressure air instead of the typical motor and can be put into any airsoft gearbox. Hague said his model provides greater velocity and precision, and he’s seen a 35 percent increase in revenue thanks to the U.S. wholesale market. But he wondered about the global possibilities.
While he has some overseas customers, Hague said he hoped the ExporTech workshops would help him develop a concrete plan for expansion.
“It’s eye-opening,” said Hague, who relied on a European distributor to handle orders. “This helps us put a comprehensive plan together and expand our export presence.”
Hague pointed to a “pent-up market” for people overseas who want to participate in the airsoft sport. He has a contact in Tel Aviv already, he said.
“It puts us in contact with people, we come up with a plan on how to do the exporting, and then there’s contacts,” said Hague, who hopes to create a market for the product in military and law-enforcement training.
In June, participants in ExporTech presented their final plans to the class. Reports had to include detailed plans about marketing and shipping, and groups critiqued each other’s plans, according to Page.
Hague said that while it helped to make the presentation, he’s hopeful that formalizing his exporting plan into a concise presentation will be useful for bank meetings he’s already scheduled to secure working and domestic capital.
“It’s a great start,” he said of ExporTech. “They wanted to know or projected finances and future revenue projections.”
Page said his only regret is that he didn’t bring someone else from his company to participate in the workshops.
“They’ve been that good, outstanding really,” he said.
Stoops said plans are under way for a fall session of ExporTech, and he thinks Delaware companies are ready to explore expanded possibilities for their products.
Delaware businesses that completed the ExporTech training also included Delaware Diamond Knives Inc., Bilcare Research Inc. and Analtech Inc.
“It’s about talking with the companies and demystifying the process,” said Mathe. “It’s not the big boogeyman that many people think it is.”
