As a result of collaboration among key S.C. export partners, five companies participated on the highly successful Connecting to Mexico Trade Mission to Guadalajara and Monterrey, March 4-10, 2006. The cooperating partners included the Midlands International Trade Association, the Columbia U.S. Export Assistance Center, the S.C. Department of Commerce, the S.C. Export Consortium, and the City of Columbia's Economic Development Division. Corporate cosponsors included Bank of America and DHL. This marked the first time that these organizations had worked together to organize, recruit and conduct a mission.
The mission's first stop was Guadalajara and began with a tour of the city on Sunday. On Monday morning, mission members participated in an informative breakfast briefing conducted by the U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) staff in Guadalajara. Immediately following the briefing, members departed for their individual company meetings that were prearranged under the USCS Gold Key Service Program. The five companies met with a total of 25 Mexican contacts over a two-day period. The meetings took place at the Mexican company's facility and each member was accompanied by an interpreter. On Tuesday evening, DHL sponsored a reception in honor of the S.C. mission members and invited their Mexican contacts as well as other Guadalajara companies and organizations. Some 50 people attended the reception.
On Wednesday morning, the mission delegates traveled to Monterrey where they had the opportunity to visit Expo Manufactura and attend the exhibitors' reception that evening. Aaron Held, Vice-Consul for Commercial Affairs, USCS Monterrey, conducted a breakfast briefing for the members on Thursday morning. Immediately after the briefing, members participated on a tour of Cerveceria Cuauhtemac, the maker of Carta Blanca, Sol and Bohemia beer and one of the key players in the establishment of Monterrey as a business town. An added bonus to the Monterrey stop was the opportunity to meet staff from USCS posts in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic who were participating in a "NAFTA to CAFTA" training session held in conjunction with Expo Manufactura.
All five companies were pleased with the contacts they made in Guadalajara and expect to do business there in the very near future. In addition, two of the mission members identified potential representatives on the trade show floor at Expo Manufactura.
Greg Hilton, S.C. Export Consortium; Amy Thomson, S.C. Department of Commerce; and Jayne Woodward, U.S. Commercial Service/Columbia U.S Export Assistance Center served as mission coordinators. Commenting on the individual meetings, Amy Thomson stated, “The mission coordinators were able to sit in on most of the meetings with our delegates and we were really pleased at how they represented our state in such a professional manner. We were also pleased with the business savvy of the Mexican counterparts with whom they met…we’re expecting to see some great relationships as a result of this mission!” Greg Hilton added,“As we strengthen our ties with the western hemisphere, business opportunities will come forward. Through this mission, we were able to identify those opportunities for these five companies and provide the vehicle to facilitate business development opportunities. The technological sophistication and dynamic nature of the companies on our delegation represents the changing face of business in South Carolina. To be successful internationally, you have to participate in market activity…these companies have proved that model successful.”
Mission members included: Jack Taylor, Thermal Engineering; Russ Yelton, Superior Modular Products; Michael Presley, Separation Dynamics; Michael O'Leary, Rhythmlink; and Mark Masters, DMP Corp; Deidre Crow, City of Columbia; and Mike Flack, Columbia Metropolitan Airport.
Note: Two other companies, Xtention and Menardi Filters, were initially recruited for this mission but were unable to participate because of schedule conflicts. Both will utilize the Gold Key Service in Mexico within the next few weeks bringing the total number of companies participating to seven.
