The Company
Patterson Fan of Blythewood, South Carolina, manufactures and direct sells industrial high velocity fans, ventilation fans and portable evaporative coolers. Established in 1989, Patterson has done more than build the industry's best air movement products; it has built a tradition of giving each customer more than they expect.
Most fan manufacturers rely on catalog houses and independent distributors to market their products, but Patterson Fan offers direct customer involvement. Patterson works with its customers in developing a thorough analysis of the facility's present air movement and environmental needs before making any product recommendations. Patterson’s business is to provide its customers with innovative, cost-effective air movement solutions that fulfill customer needs and exceed expectations.
Patterson not only manufactures industrial fans for distribution centers and large industries such as Walmart, Best Buy, FedEx, UPS, and General Motors, but also for smaller companies with the simple purpose of cooling off people.
Patterson Fan began selling internationally about 10 years ago, doing business in Mexico, Brazil, and Russia. However, Patterson began aggressively exporting when Jonathan Lipsi joined the company three years ago as Patterson’s International Manager.
The Challenge
One of the biggest challenges of exporting for Patterson is finding the right distributor. "There are a lot of people saying they want to work with you," according to Lipsi, "but it’s not always easy to find the right ones. Finding the right market is also a challenge, as Patterson fans have so many different applications, many of these applications being very different from those in the United States."
The Solution
Lipsi discovered the U.S. Commercial Service when he was given an email mentioning a seminar that the local office, the Columbia U.S. Export Assistance Center, was holding. Lipsi attended the videoconference and was so impressed with all the knowledge and information he received from the Commercial Service that he immediately signed up to participate in RepCan, an annual event organized by the U.S. Commercial Service posts in Montreal and Toronto. RepCan features Gold Key appointments for U.S. companies with potential trade partners.
During RepCan, Lipsi met with nine companies in Montreal and nine in Toronto over the course of two days. Patterson has an excellent distributor today because of the contacts made for him at RepCan, doing over $100,000 in business with them in 2004 and looking to double that in 2005.
Since that first Gold Key in Canada, Lipsi has participated in Gold Keys in the Dominican Republic, Spain, United Kingdom, and Mexico. He also went on a trade mission to Central America organized by the Commercial Service’s Western Hemisphere and Automotive Teams. Mission stops included Guatemala, Panama, and Costa Rica.
“I’m dealing with local people that know the country and the business,” said Lipsi. “You don’t waste time trying to find out information or setting up meetings with people. The Commercial Service does that for you.”
Lipsi added that he greatly benefited from the seminars hosted by the Columbia U.S. Export Assistance Center. He learned what to look for and the rules to go by when looking for distributors.
In 2003, Lipsi contacted Trade Specialist (TS) Jayne Woodward regarding Patterson's interest in the Italian market. At the suggestion of TS Maria Calabria at the Commercial Service post in Rome, Jonathan attended the Mostra Convegno Expocomfort (MCE) trade show in Milan, Italy, in March 2004. Maria was actively recruiting U.S. participants for this show that features heating, refrigeration and ventilation equipment - a perfect fit for Patterson - and provides significant exposure as it attracts attendees from throughout Europe. CS Calabria also set up appointments at the fair for Patterson with potential partners and worked with her colleagues in Milan to provide assistance both before and during the exhibition. Forty-one countries visited the Patterson booth and, as a direct result of exhibiting at this event, Patterson signed on new distributors in France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Portugal. Patterson was quite pleased with the results they were able to obtain after participating in this one trade event. Jonathan was originally set to do a Gold Key Service in Italy, but Maria thought the trade show would be a better move. Maria had been right in that it was a better choice over the Gold Key because the end result was not only market penetration in Italy but in several European markets.
Lessons Learned
“The message [of the U.S. Commercial Service] has to get out there loud and strong to other companies who aren’t doing any business internationally because of a lack of information,” insisted Lipsi. “Providing information is what the Commercial Service does so well.”
Due in large part to the help of the Commercial Service, Patterson Fan now has master distributors in Canada, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Greece, Singapore, Mexico, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, and Portugal and also exports to the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Brazil, Italy, France, and Chile.
“The Commercial Service has saved us a lot of time in getting there. There is no way we would have gotten to so many countries in this amount of time without the Commercial Service,” acknowledges Lipsi.
In addition to the benefits of the Commercial Service, another important lesson Patterson Fan has learned from doing business internationally is that cultures are very different. Patterson’s Export Sales Account Manager Linda Hughes advises, “Do a quick study on the country you are trying to sell to so that you can learn about the cultural differences before starting to do business with them. The Commercial Service’s market research can help you find any country information you need. Just visit http://www.export.gov to get started.”
Hughes adds, “Once you’ve done the research, form a relationship with your potential partner on a personal level and not just a business level. Sometimes in other cultures, people are insulted when you just try to stick to business. Since it can be a big mistake to attempt to do business in another country and not understand the culture, make sure you have all the information that will contribute to your success overseas.”
For example, Lipsi advises not to sell anything without a Letter of Credit or some kind of guarantee, even when you have developed a relationship. Equally as important is to always know the terms of your sale—what you expect from them and what they expect from you. Commercial Service trade specialists will take you through the entire exporting process, all the while recommending such strategies.
The Commercial Service has done this for Patterson Fan whose next stop is the IKK trade show in Hanover, Germany in November 2005. As Lipsi said of the Commercial Service: “We have a tremendous tool in this country that can be especially helpful for small companies looking to export their products.”
Trade Specialist Woodward recently introduced Patterson Fan to Dorette Coetsee, Operations Manager of the S.C. Export Consortium in Columbia. The Consortium utilizes the talents of their staff and graduate students at the University of South Carolina and Clemson University to research and prepare customized export market reports for South Carolina companies. As a result, Ms. Coetsee has delivered the final market report for Patterson Fan which provides in-depth market information for their products' potential in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, The Netherlands, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Australia.
To view Patterson Fan's complete line of ventilation products go to http://www.pattersonfan.com.
**For additional information on the Gold Key Service, please visit our services page.
Pictured are Jonathan Lipsi, International Sales Manager and Linda Hughes, Export Sales Account Manager, Patterson Fan, Inc., Blythewood, SC