Mission Featured Reception with U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins

Nine South Carolina companies had an opportunity to explore the Canadian market during a recent trade mission to Toronto and Montreal.

“The mission helped us to get our feet on the ground and establish roots in Canada,” said Bill Daniels, Senior Vice President of Corporate Sales for Techknow in Duncan.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, S.C. Department of Commerce, The Export Consortium and the S.C. District Export Council, the week-long mission included one-on-one business appointments arranged by the U.S. Commercial Service. Market briefings provided by the U.S. Commercial Service staff in Toronto and Montreal prepared the delegates for what to expect when doing business in Canada. And early indicators are that the business meetings were highly successful. Several of the delegates are already planning return trips.

Members of the South Carolina delegation also met with David Wilkins, U.S. Ambassador to Canada and S.C. Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor at a reception held in Toronto. John Nay, U.S. Consul General also attended.

The group had an opportunity to see the point of entry for many U.S. exports when it visited the Peace Bridge and toured the Canadian Border Services Agency in Niagara Falls. Customs officials offered advice on how to avoid red flags and discussed resources available to insure products clear customs in a timely manner.

“This mission was the best one yet as far as scope and the caliber of companies participating,” said Amy Thomson, Export Development Manager for the S.C. Department of Commerce. “We were so pleased to have Ambassador Wilkins and Secretary Taylor address our group…to have all of those S.C. and Canadian firms together in one room was fantastic.” Thomson adds that close to 200 people attended the reception, which took place in Toronto.

Members of the South Carolina delegation included: Debbie and John Lowsky, Ark Therapeutics Services, Lugoff; David Baynard, Black River Tools, Manning; Ron Yeoman, Briggs Industries, Goose Creek; Bryan Ashby, Carolina Cotton Works, Gaffney; Lynne Becker, Lynn Ellen Inc., Charleston; Bill Utt, Runway Safety Services, Murrells Inlet; Roy Copelan, S.C. Department of Agriculture; Jim Anderson and Bill Daniels, Techknow, Inc., Duncan; Carlos Gutierrez and Lawson Hayes, United Resource Recovery Corp., Spartanburg; Clarke Thompson, S.C. Department of Commerce; Amy Thomson, S.C. Department of Commerce; Denis Csizmadia, Greenville U.S. Export Assistance Center, U.S. Commercial Service/U.S. Department of Commerce; Fred Monk, The Export Consortium; and Maureen Taylor, The Export Consortium.