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Contours Express (Fitness Centers for Women)
"I attended a Gold Key program last December (2005) in Central America on behalf of and in my capacity as President of Contours Express International. I am writing to report to you how extremely impressed and pleased I was with the extra efforts and complete professionalism from each one of the commercial specialists from your offices in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.
The marketing counsel that I received from each specialist certainly paid off more than any other previous Gold Key program. We not only had a full list of qualified candidates for each day from each country, but we also had a waiting list on call in the event of cancellations!
The meetings were all well organized and each of the candidates with whom I met had been briefed on the nature of our business which saved valuable time in our short meetings.
I could not have asked for or received a better or more professional service from your specialists and each one is to be commended. I can tell you that I have not received the same level of quality service in any other Gold Key program in which I have participated.”
 | Arvin, President of Contours Express, February 2006 |
Softee Supreme Diaper Corporation
Softee Supreme Diaper Corporation, a small to medium-sized company located in Decatur, Georgia, is a manufacturer and marketer of quality disposable baby diapers. The Commercial Service in Central America and the Atlanta Export Assistance Center helped introduce the company to potential buyers in the CAFTA region. Softee Supreme has benefited from the tariff reduction as a result of CAFTA and has reported significant export sales in the region.
The HACH Company
The HACH Company, located in Loveland, Colorado, provides advanced analytical water quality instrumentation and systems and technical support for water quality testing. International Sales Director Hermes Gonzalez participated in the CAFTA Business Development Mission led by Secretary Gutierrez in October 2005, the first trade mission to the region following the approval of the Agreement by the U.S. Congress that summer. The U.S. Commercial Service in Central America and the Denver Export Assistant Center provided additional follow-up support to HACH’s marketing efforts. The company reported significant export sales during 2006 to water and environmental authorities in Guatemala and El Salvador. CAFTA secured duty-free treatment for laboratory and analytical instrumentation, which should continue to make the region an attractive market for the products supplied by the HACH Company.
PriceSmart
PriceSmart Inc., headquartered in San Diego, California, owns and operates U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in Central America and the Caribbean, selling high quality merchandise at low prices to PriceSmart members. CAFTA-DR has provided a strong boost to PriceSmart's sales in Central America. For example, at the two warehouse clubs in El Salvador, sales of half of the top twenty U.S. imports have increased by 30 percent or more, with the increase significantly correlated to duty savings resulting from CAFTA-DR. Not only is PriceSmart’s business benefiting from CAFTA-DR, but even more Central American consumers are enjoying quality products at even lower prices.