Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/415707
10 | /INSIGHT ON MANUFACTURING • November 2014 w w w.in s i g h t o n m f g . c o m Working through problems like this can open up the world of exporting to New North area manufacturers. But perceived barriers and unknown factors can be daunting for companies that are new to exporting. While regulations are complex and vary by country, state and local agencies have helped some companies to discover it's worth the trouble. "If that's where you can make money, you just have to figure out the strategy to get there," Baumann says. Eighty percent of international business has basically the same processes as domestic business. "It's the 20 percent you have to figure out that's a little bit different, but you've got great resources in this whole international team in this state." Programs such as WMEP's ExporTech, which Baumann leads, and those offered through New North area technical colleges are great places to start. Gautam Malik, chief operating officer for the Stevens Point-based Gamber-Johnson, says his company increased exports by 650 percent after going through ExporTech training. Malik, who spoke at the recent Manufacturing First Expo and Conference, says ExporTech helped the company focus on a specific strategy to tap into foreign markets. For example, the company, which produces docking systems for laptops and tablets for public safety vehicles, broke into the Saudi Arabian market by adding customer service on Saturday and Sunday. "Saturday was like Monday for them," Malik says. "When compared to the competition, you're getting a two-day head start. Those were the small nuances that we learned when we attended the ExporTech program." Gamber-Johnson invested about a half-million dollars in capital to develop docking stations for computers sold outside of America, making four unique products for the European market. "That was a big gamble that we were taking," Malik says. "We knew what the risk was going to be. The plan was to break even after year one, and in nine months, we had a positive capital." Even though companies like Gamber-Johnson have found success, there's still a lot of hesitancy to make the leap. "Part of the challenge for a lot of American companies is that our own market is so huge that it's hard to get people really excited about other markets because they're small in comparison," says Chris Kuehl, international chief economist and managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence, who presented at a recent FVTC Global Education and Services department program. "One of the things that is constantly pointed out is that almost every state is the size of a country. Wisconsin has the UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY c o n t i n u e d » FVTC's Global Education and Services www.fvtc.edu/global-education » NWTC www.nwtc.edu » Lakeshore Technical College www.gotoltc.edu/ » New North, Inc. www.thenewnorth.com/strategic- initiatives/global-new-north/ » WMEP's ExporTech program www.wmep.org/next-generation- manufacturing/global-engagement/ exportech » WEDC http://inwisconsin.com/exporting/ programs/global-business- development-program/ Where to start Gautam Malik, COO of Stevens Point-based Gamber-Johnson, says his company increased exports by 650 percent after attending ExporTech training through the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership and UW- Stout. Roxanne Baumann, director of global engagement for WMEP, says identifying the ways your product stands out from all others can help a company decide the best export markets to target. M A R G A R E T L E B R U N