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Beyond Virginia
 
We Come Before You to Stand Behind You: VEDP's AIM and VALET Programs Welcome New Companies and Wish Graduates Well

The VEDP International Trade Division has evolved over the years to consistently meet the needs of its clients. Virginia companies dictate what services and programs are offered through their export goals. For the past five years, the award-winning Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) Program has been helping its participants to achieve their export goals and launch into worldwide markets.

Based on VALET's success, the new Accessing International Markets (AIM) Program was launched in December 2005 to help new to export companies. The AIM one-year program currently has 15 Virginia companies participating. The AIM Program will grow to have 20 companies participating at any given time when it welcomes more companies in the fourth quarter, beginning in September.

Since 2002, over 40 Virginia companies graduated from the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) Program's 2-year "export boot camp". Export success is typically measured in figures. Some companies have export sales without an international strategy, while others painstakingly research & prepare before entering a foreign market. The graduating class shows what you can accomplish with a VALET Plan of Action. This July, these seven graduating companies proved themselves as Virginia's leaders in export trade:

  • American Hofmann Corporation of Lynchburg
  • Gala Industries of Eagle Rock
  • Midwesco Filter Resources of Winchester
  • Morphix Technologies of Virginia Beach
  • PEMCO Corporation of Bluefield
  • Power Systems & Controls of Richmond
  • Remarque Manufacturing of Hampton


    • By traveling on 16 overseas Trade Missions and completing five Global Market Research projects, the VALET graduates appointed 26 new overseas partners and increased annual international sales by 30% (from a collective starting point of $22.5 million). One VALET company was so successful it was acquired by IBM - a long-term goal turned short-term due to its international victories. Other accomplishments of the July VALET graduates include:

    o One company growing their business in India by 245% (starting from $43K)
    o One company growing their business in Mexico by 155% (starting from $540K)
    o One company launching their business in Poland
    o One company launched their business in the Czech Republic

    The VALET Program founder and manager, Kim Weir, will also "graduate" along with this July class to a new role at the VEDP as International Investment Manager. Starting in August, the new VALET Program Manager will be Leslie Parpart, a Richmond-based attorney and former school teacher.

    Joining Leslie will be the new VALET class of July 2006:

  • Base-X, Inc. of Rockbridge
  • Bihrle Applied Research of Hampton
  • F. R. Drake Company of Waynesboro
  • i411, Inc. of Herndon
  • Microaire Surgical Instruments LLC of Charlottesville
  • MapTech, Inc. of Blacksburg
  • Old World Prints of Richmond
  • UXB International, Inc. of Blacksburg


    • The VEDP, or your friendly neighborhood export office, recognizes that companies who appreciate foreign sales tend to "have the right stuff" and will prosper, thus supporting the local economy with jobs & taxes, and making the VALET and AIM Programs successful.

    The Accessing International Markets (AIM) Program helps Virginia companies turn leads into sales overseas, and encourages them to adopt an active, systematic approach to the export process. This one-year, competitive program will assist 20 companies who appreciate foreign sales per year. Companies are accepted based on the following few criteria:

  • 10 employees or more
  • Established 2 years
  • $1 million in annual sales
  • Commitment to travel to their target market within the year
  • Commitment to complete market verification research with VEDP during application


    • In July, the March and June AIM companies attended an orientation event in Richmond where they had the opportunity to meet with the AIM Program partners and network with the VALET graduates and inductees. These attendees included:

  • Metal Products Specialists of Portsmouth
  • Rubatex, International, LLC of Bedford
  • Koger Air Corporation of Martinsville
  • EMI Recycling of Stuart
  • Turman Lumber of Hillsville


    • from the March 2006 AIM class, and

  • Evergreen Enterprises of Richmond
  • Tactical & Survival Specialists Inc. of Harrisonburg
  • Milhous Company of Amherst
  • Darco Southern Company of Independence
  • Hilden America of South Boston


    • from the June 2006 AIM class.

    While numbers do tell the story, read what program participants are saying too:

    "The program helped us funnel our energies and it gave us confidence. With VALET supporting us, we applied pressure to our rep in Mexico (because we felt we had a plan B if we needed it) and as a result he started performing. VALET gave us a safety net which enabled us to tolerate the risk of pushing him. It really helped us channel our energies into what we could reasonably handle."

    "Now, we are thinking differently about how we adapt our way of doing business to different cultures. We are realizing that it may make sense to be more flexible than we have been in the past. We have changed several reps that were with us for a long time, because we know we have the support to find the right ones in places like Mexico, India and Singapore."

    Both VALET and AIM Program Participants benefit from valuable VEDP resources to help them succeed in international markets. These include capital in the form of refunds for approved export expenses, counseling and research in various forms, and access to professional, private sector program partners. Partners will provide a menu of specific service items to be offered free of charge or at a discount to program participants including: Freight forwarding and customs issues; Translation, interpretation and cultural issues; Issues relating to international law; Internet marketing recommendations, and more.

    How do you join the VALET Program?

    See your local Trade Manager! http://www.exportvirginia.org/contact_itm.htm

    VALET companies are identified by our "Export Gurus", submit an application, and are accepted into to the Program based on the following few criteria:
  • 20 employees
  • Established 3 years
  • $2 million in annual sales
  • $20,000 commitment toward export trade
  • Completed international market research


    • For more details go to: http://www.exportvirginia.org/programs_valet_new.htm

    How do you join the AIM Program?

    Companies interested in AIM should submit an application (Click here) for quarterly acceptance into the program. The next AIM class will begin September 1, 2006 and applications are due August 18, 2006. The December 1, 2006 applications are due November 17, 2006.