Dutchman Global Supply, Inc., a distributor of used heavy-duty construction equipment and new truck parts located in Darlington, SC, was recently presented the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Export Achievement Award.  Representative John Spratt along with Ann Watts, former Director of the U.S. Commercial Service office in Columbia, presented the award.   Dutchman Global was recognized for its accomplishments in opening and expanding the market for its products in the Middle East, particularly the U.A.E.  The company’s president, Dan Vander Meer, began the company in 2005 after leaving his position as the Managing Director for Machinery Corporation of Guyana, the authorized dealer for Caterpillar, Inc.  Dan’s worldwide connections in the construction equipment industry were invaluable to developing his new business, yet he found there was a learning curve for his new operations with regard to foreign sales.  Working with Ann Watts, he was introduced to the worldwide support available from the U.S. Commercial Service network, as well as representatives of the S.C. Department of Commerce, The Export Consortium and the U.S. Small Business Administration.  Dan attended export-related training offered by the U.S. Commercial Service and utilized market research, contact programs, and counseling from the agency.  In addition to the Middle East, Dutchman has also been busy expanding sales in other markets.  In August of 2007, the company opened an office in Georgetown, Guyana, and total sales to-date exceed $250,000.00 with additional sales pending of $1,500,000.00. 

Dan was recently appointed as a member of the S.C. District Export Council.  He is pictured above receiving his membership certificate from Colleen Litkenhaus, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Commercial Service, and Jim Cox, Chairman of the S.C. DEC.

The following article about Dutchman Global's accomplishments was written by Neil Hopwood, Editor of Darlington's NEWS AND PRESS:

One only needs to turn on the national news at night to hear about the huge trade deficit.  But right here in Darlington County, a company is doing its part to reverse that trend.  Dan and Robyn Vander Meer have founded Dutchman Global.  "We export heavy equipment to the rest of the world," Dan said.  "We buy it, refurbish it sometimes, and export it."

The couple formed Dutchman Global after Dan left Caterpillar as a senior executive in 2005.  Dan had extensive experience overseas, living in countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Guyuana and Columbia.  He mostly worked in heavy equipment and mining equipment, the same business he's in now.

But he branched out on his own by investing $28,000 in the new company.  Within a year the company had seven representatives covering 22 countries and territories, and in 2006 the company became part of a network of 4,000 independent dealers and equipment brokers.

Dutchman Global has already worked in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Russia, the Ukraine, Pakistan, Trinidad, the United Arab Emirates and the Ivory Coast - to name a few.

Subsidiaries have been set up in Guyana and the Middle East, mostly to support mining operations.  All of this is supported with just five local employees, though Dan said that a large expansion that could create more than 100 local jobs is already in the planning stages.  So how has the company found so many clients so quickly?

The way to do it is through the Internet.  The Vander Mers get in touch with their clients through a variety of means, but the Internet is the main form of communication, he said.

"We're in every phone book in every country in the world," Dan said.  "We're listed on every equipment site.  Our website has had about 8,000,000 hits.  That drives the traffic."

Dan personally travels to every country he does busines with and usually he's alone.

"A lot of time culture is only about being polite and respectful.  There are areas that are very problematic.  We go into places that are inherently dangerous, where there's political risk, economic risk."  The oil fields of Colombia, Uganda, the Congo have been a few of the hot spots.

"But if you make the right connections your local hosts will generally take are of you," Dan stated.  "We've not had any security problems."

His wife Robyn, who works the books at the home office, said every time they've gotten a job, their clients have gotten the two of them...whether they knew it or not.  "It's been maddening.  We've grown so fast," said Robyn.  "We're just holding on for the ride."

Rep. John Spratt said that mega-sized exporters usually get the attention, but the small guys deserve kudos as well.  He stated, "You don't think of the small participants...but what you've done has been phenomenal."

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