Tradeology, the ITA Blog

This post originally appeared on the Department of Commerce blog.

Ed. note: This post is part of a series highlighting the upcomingHannover Messe Trade Show April 25—29, 2016. This series will highlight U.S. exhibitors that will participate in the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology.

Guest blog post by Annette Kleiser, Business Development Consultant for AzTE

This is your first time at Hannover Messe. What factors influenced your decision to participate this year?

With the United States being the Partner Country for 2016, there are lots of great events and opportunities for engagement. Arizona State University is focused on innovating and partnering for solutions to global challenges. The USA Research & Technology Pavilion will attract lots of attention and visibility.

Why is the Research and Technology pavilion a natural home for you?

Annette Kleiser, Ph.D., Arizona State University

AzTE is the exclusive IP management and technology transfer organization for Arizona State University, which this year was named the “most innovative school” in the United States by the influential U.S. News & World Report college rankings. HM16 is the single biggest platform for showcasing industrial technology and we look forward to the opportunity to share some of our emerging technologies and startups on this grand stage.

What do you hope to accomplish at Hannover Messe?

Arizona State University’s interdisciplinary approach to research and entrepreneurship delivers truly novel solutions to persistent societal and market challenges. Hannover Messe 2016 is an important global showcase for this work and we’re very excited to be part of the USA Research & Technology Pavilion.

When and how did your organization enter the global marketplace? With what countries or markets are you currently engaged?

We have long recognized the tremendous opportunity in marketing ASU innovations to investors and companies outside our region. AzTE has built global venture connections that include Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico), Dublin City University (Ireland), Tsinghua University (China) and Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)—Taiwan.

What impact has this had on your organization or region? What advice do you have for other American organizations looking at the global market?

To date, more than 80 companies have launched based on ASU innovations, attracting more than $500 million in funding from venture capital firms and other investors – $76 million just in fiscal year 2015. In the modern global economy, we have to look far beyond our own borders to find the best potential partner to commercialize our technologies.

This post originally appeared on the Department of Commerce blog.

Ed. note: This post is part of a series highlighting the upcomingHannover Messe Trade Show April 25—29, 2016. This series will highlight U.S. exhibitors that will participate in the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology.

Guest blog post by Tom Muldoon, President of American Exchanger Services

This is your first time at Hannover Messe. What factors influenced your decision to participate this year?

The Department of Commerce and the Export grant influenced our decision to participate this year.

Employees of American Exchange Services at Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year 2016 Banquet

Why is the Energy and Mobilitec pavilion a natural home for you?

The Energy and Mobilitec pavilion is perfect because uur primary focus is on large (and small) heat exchangers found in Power Plants such as Feedwater Heaters, Steam Condensers and Secondary Air Heaters. We also have specialized services for retuning and rebuilding this equipment including explosive plug welding. Our current advanced technology will save utilities fuel and emissions.

What do you hope to accomplish at Hannover Messe?

We hope to introduce our Advanced Heat Rate program to improve plant design. We will also be introducing our new Power Recovery Condenser System for fossil and nuclear units. Our product line of highly engineered feed water heaters and steam condensers will also be featured. Attracting possible representation in some countries and having discussions with EPC type companies will also be important. To a lesser extent, we would also show pictures of some of our high energy rate fabrication capabilities (Explosive welding and Forming).

When and how did your company begin exporting? What countries do you have experience exporting to?      

We have been exporting for over 12 years. We actually began as a company due to a licensing of explosive welding technology from a company in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. We have equipment in and have performed services in: Trinidad, Venezuela, Australia, Malaysia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Bahamas.

What impact has exporting had on your company? What advice do you have for other American companies looking to start exporting?

Without exporting, we would have gone out of business. In 2008, it was a couple export projects which were the only real sales for the year and without them, we would not have been able to continue. With the current changing US power market in which larger fossil and nuclear units are under increasing pressure due to emission concerns, our business also came under high stress. This trend has had a dramatic impact on the sale of our product and services. We horizontally expanded to other equipment. By exporting, we can work on the global power generation industry which does not have the cost flexibility or subsidies that the US has for paying for generation.

In the global market new coal and fossil units are being built in a more rapid fashion. In the replacement market, some of the power plants in the emerging markets are getting to the point where failures are cost money and replacements are necessary. Our business has become almost half export.

For people looking to start exporting, I would just tell them to find similar customers to their domestic customers and contact them and then get on the plane. Just check the STEP program and travel sites for notes on getting around. Get the sales and rely on your local banking and commerce people for the transaction.

This post originally appeared on the Department of Commerce blog.

Ed. note: This post is part of a series highlighting the upcoming Hannover Messe Trade Show April 25—29, 2016. This series will highlight U.S. exhibitors that will participate in the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology.

Guest blog post by Suzi Pegg, Vice President at Pittsburgh Regional Alliance

This is your first time at Hannover Messe. What factors influenced your decision to participate this year?

The Pittsburgh region is an amalgam of brawn and brains: We’ve kept the best of our past – strong work ethic, an industrial heritage and resiliency – but have harnessed innovation, R&D and technology to accelerate our legacy industries, including manufacturing, to new dimensions.

Manufacturing Prowess + Energy + Tech + Innovation = Pittsburgh 4.0! The Pittsburgh region is proudly contributing to Industry 4.0, the newest Industrial Revolution.

The opportunities to promote this Pittsburgh story (and much more) to prospective companies and show off the Pittsburgh region as a perfect soft landing for business investment at Hanover Messe 2016 influenced our decision to participate. It’s the world’s most important trade fair for industrial technology. It maps so well to a number of sectors our region is famous for – such as manufacturing and information technology. And with the U.S. as the fair’s partner country, as well as us sharing a booth with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Core PA and Select Philadelphia, we are represented across the map, providing us with strength in numbers to show the world that the U.S., Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh region are open for business and are great places to live, work and invest.

Why is the Investment pavilion a natural home for you?

A main factor in our decision to participate in Hanover Messe 2016 was the opportunity to share a booth (Select USA Pavilion – Hall 3, Floor 6, Stand 22) with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Core PA and Select Philadelphia. Together, we have an opportunity to shine as a state. When Pennsylvania thrives, the Pittsburgh region thrives. Our partnerships in the region and across the state are unique, and these partnerships benefit all of the participants.

What do you hope to accomplish at Hannover Messe?

We hope to accomplish a lot at the trade show.  The first thing that caught our attention was the term “Industry 4.0,” which was born out of Germany. “Industry 4.0” has been cited as the fourth Industrial Revolution, and it will be a large focus at the fair. Our own regional advances – “Pittsburgh 4.0,” as we call them – are contributing to this revolution and can be assets to other countries. From the Pittsburgh region, long-standing companies and visionary startups are delivering novel, disruptive and often globally impactful developments.  These are already touching industries and individuals worldwide and have the potential to be even more disruptive.

At Hannover Messe, the Pittsburgh region has an opportunity to show the world that these companies in the region are melding dramatic advances in robotics, artificial intelligence and 3D printing – many of which are tied to Pittsburgh’s robust academic and corporate R&D – with their typical operations. As such, they are enabling the production of an array of materials, products and services made faster, better and at less expense. This is a critical part of Industry 4.0, and it’s coming straight out of Pittsburgh.

Our region has an established manufacturing supply chain; innovation from research and development at Carnegie Mellon University – which will be represented at Hannover Messe – and the University of Pittsburgh; and support from regional and state economic development organizations.  Altogether, these assets play favorably to companies looking to establish a presence or do business in southwestern Pennsylvania.  Bottom line:  Pittsburgh is profitable for companies; that’s the message we want people to understand.

Another common thread is talent attraction and retention, which is the very backbone of a successful region. Attracting global talent to our region – and keeping the international students with amazing minds who come to study at our world-renowned universities – to work and live will diversify our population and increase our pool of future citizens. Having such diversity creates a nexus to attract the next wave of corporate investment to southwestern Pennsylvania. It will secure the region’s place as a truly international destination and soft landing for people and businesses alike.

When and how did your organization enter the global marketplace? With what countries or markets are you currently engaged?

The Pittsburgh region has a rich history in the global marketplace. The steel made in our mills was exported to “built the world” in the 20^th century.  Those business and trade connections remain but are now expanded into other sectors such as healthcare and life sciences and information technology.

Currently, we’re engaged with Germany, France, the U.K., Japan, Canada and Australia.

Germany is a key target market for us this year. It’s an outstanding example of the role foreign direct investment (FDI) plays in advancing economic opportunities in the Pittsburgh region. Germany is a leader (second only to the U.K.), when considering quantity of investment, among the 33 countries with investment ties to the region.

The article, “Why German Companies Feel at Home in Pittsburgh,” published in IndustryWeek in July 2014, sums up the attraction nicely:

“When half of the 20 largest German-owned companies have a presence in one city, you have to ask why. Pittsburgh home to 170 German companies, 75 of which are manufacturers. With numbers that large, including a workforce of 11,000, it can safely be said that it’s not a coincidence.

There are a number of factors: a strong workforce with a history of skills in specific areas in which German companies excel, a landscape that looks like home to German ex-pats and similar cultural values. But the one that stands out is the ability to combine the reputations of the two countries into a strong product offering.”

In addition, because of our strengths in cybersecurity, the region outbid other U.S. regions to host a German Cyber Security mission coming to Pittsburgh in the fall. This initiative will be in conjunction with our partner, the Pittsburgh chapter of the German American Chamber of Commerce.

What impact has this had on your organization or region? What advice do you have for other American organizations looking at the global market?

The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance and our region have benefited from the diverse companies entering our market. The creation of jobs and the access to other potential investments in other countries have successfully reinforced our pipeline and broadened our outreach.

In terms of advice, I’d relay lessons I’ve taken from my personal experience of recently becoming a United States citizen last December. It was a long journey which took time and investment, but citizenship was worth all the hoops I had to go through, and I could not be prouder to officially be a part of this incredible nation.  I tell the international companies that I work with that while they can perceive the USA as a hurdle too tall to jump, there is real opportunity here that will make it worth their while.  I am frank in telling them that they have to be serious about entering the market, do the necessary leg work and be in it for the long haul – all of much is not very different from becoming a citizen, in my mind. The same goes for American organizations looking at the global market. There is effort, but it’s not without reward.

This post originally appeared on the Department of Commerce blog.

Ed. note: This post is part of a series highlighting the upcomingHannover Messe Trade Show April 25—29, 2016. This series will highlight U.S. exhibitors that will participate in the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology. 

Guest blog post by OCTAVIO MANZANO , President of Apfelbaum Industrial, Inc.

This is your first time at Hannover Messe. What factors influenced your decision to participate this year?

Octavio Manzano in IEEE Acapulco Mexico Show 2014, Talking to the CFE attendants about Oil Transformer Reclaiming

I think is great opportunity to be expose because is the biggest show in Europe and there are so many worldwide companies  in several fields    how maybe we can partner or establish  relationship and there will be so many prospect clients how maybe we can capture.

Why is the Energy and Mobilitec pavilion a natural home for you?

Because we are involve in Power Generation, Transmission and Substations and we have also products for Oil Transformer Reclaiming all this services for Utility companies.

What do you hope to accomplish at Hannover Messe?

We like to make additional partnerships with other companies and we like to get new potential customers for other countries.

When and how did your company begin exporting?

We start exporting in 1987 to Mexico, then from 2007 we export to Venezuela also. Recently we  open a Branch in Dominic Republic.

What impact has exporting had on your company? What advice do you have for other American companies looking to start exporting?

We have been increasing our sales in those markets, therefore we find out the changes on those markets are continuous and even the rules for export are almost the same everywhere we need to  pay attention to the particular rules and contractual laws applicable to every Country which make difficult the competitiveness. Also  we need to have the lines of credit big enough to attend the financial challenges to manage the Purchase Orders, because the Banks always ask for domestic sales and they watch the export sales as very risky. Actually this is the biggest limitation to export, Lines of Credit for the Small Business.

This post originally appeared on the Department of Commerce blog.

Ed. note: This post is part of a series highlighting the upcomingHannover Messe Trade Show April 25—29, 2016. This series will highlight U.S. exhibitors that will participate in the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology. 

Guest blog post by John DeLuca, International Sales Manager atLiberty Pumps, Inc.

This is your first time at Hannover Messe. What factors influenced your decision to participate this year?

Liberty Pumps continues to expand its CE marked pump offering. This year Liberty Pumps has joined the leading Pump Manufacturers of the world in the Pump Plaza pavilion. Liberty has a twofold objective at Hannover Messe… first, to introduce our products and second, to attract pump distributors in Germany and the EU.

John DeLuca, International Sales Manager at Liberty Pumps, Inc.

What do you hope to accomplish at Hannover Messe?

Our main goal at Hannover Messe is to expose our Liberty Pumps CE marked products to the EU end user customer base and to attract distributors to carry the Liberty Pumps line in Germany and the rest of the EU.

When and how did your company begin exporting?

Liberty Pumps started exporting outside of North America toward the end of 2010. Today, we export to Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, and most LATAM countries. We also export to North Korea, Philippines, China and Vietnam. We have recently begun to export to several EU countries including Sweden, UK, the Netherlands, and Spain.

What impact has exporting had on your company?

Exporting has made a valuable impact in the expansion of our engineering expertise, has increased our company’s turnover, and has grown our brand awareness on a global scale.