MOBILE, Alabama – Companies looking to expand their business to overseas markets can get advice on how to diversify their client base through exporting at a World Trade Week symposium in Mobile later this month.
World Trade Week events kick off with a networking reception at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 22, where attendees can interact with trade officials, state and federal resource providers, and members of the state’s international business community.
The symposium starts at 8 a.m. Friday, May 23. Tickets are $65, and reservations must be made by Monday, May 19. Both events are at The Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel & Spa.
The event, hosted by the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and the Export Alabama Alliance, is part of the state’s ongoing emphasis on helping local companies take advantage of export opportunities. Alabama companies exported $19.3 billion in goods in 2013, up 57 percent since 2009.
According to U.S. Department of Commerce, more than 83 percent of the 2,878 Alabama companies that export products are small- and medium-sized companies. Auburn’s Archangel Systems, which makes sensors for international aerospace companies, and Huntsville’s PESA, which sells audio/video switching systems sold around the world, were among the small Alabama companies honored in March for export success.
Symposium attendees will hear presentations on Alabama’s trade strategy, opportunities for exporting, future markets and the Washington D.C. perspective on the U.S. trade agenda. Speakers include Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce; Leslie Schweitzer of Capitalize LLC, a Washington D.C.-firm that spearheads international trade with Central Asia; and Christopher Wenk, senior director for international policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“A sustained increase in exports plays a key role in Accelerate Alabama, the state’s strategic plan for economic development, and helps spur job creation,“ Canfield said. “Our department along with the members of the Export Alabama Alliance have been concentrating on helping small and medium companies across the state find new markets for exports. This serves to expand Alabama’s reach in the global economy.”
For more information or to register for the Mobile Area Chamber’s World Trade Week, contact Emily McGrath at 251-431-8651 or emcgrath@mobilechamber.com.
Click here for information about the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Division.
