Enterprise Florida (EFI) recently presented a series of trade seminars across the state to help Florida small and medium-sized businesses learn about doing business in Germany and German markets. The week-long event, held May 13-17, included 15 meetings and seminars in 8 cities.
Enterprise Florida senior vice president of international trade and development, Manny Mencia said, “These types of seminars allow us to reach companies around the state and help them learn about potential new markets. Germany is a top 10 total merchandise trade partner for the state and businesses there provide tremendous opportunities for companies in Florida. We’re continuously working to help companies here grow through trade in markets like Germany.”
The seminars featured Enterprise Florida’s German foreign office representatives who serve the German, Austrian and Swiss markets. The German economy is the fourth largest in the world and accounts for more than one-fifth of the European Union’s GDP. Germany is the United States’ largest European trading partner and is ranked as the sixth leading market for U.S. exports. Germany has an expansive consumer market within the European Union with a population of 80.6 million.
“Most of Ameriworld’s clients come from Europe seeking to expand in the U.S., so the meeting with EFI’s German foreign office representatives was a great way to establish a relationship between Enterprise Florida and Ameriworld,” said Cloudya Esther, director of international business development for Ameriworld in Miami. “What EFI is doing is quite unique from other states. No one else works as hard to connect in-state companies with domestic and global business opportunities.” Since 2003, Ameriworld has been assisting local and foreign companies in establishing their own operation in the U.S. for the direct sale, fulfillment and distribution of their products. The company provides complete back-office operations, from providing office space, to handling the import and warehousing of inventory, processing orders, shipping, invoicing, collecting and depositing funds, and bookkeeping.
AeroClave, LLC develops, manufactures and sells a system capable of decontaminating commercial and military aircraft. In addition to the ability to decontaminate aircraft, the company has developed the first large-scale, cost-effective vehicle decontamination facility in Winter Park, Florida. Martin Mobek, business development representative with AeroClave, attended one of the seminars. “AeroClave has worked with Enterprise Florida’s trade team in the past and has found them to be very proactive – far exceeding expectations,” he said. “The presentation given by EFI’s German foreign office representatives was well-formatted and provided valuable insights on conducting business between Germany and the U.S. We also learned about upcoming trade missions with Enterprise Florida and AeroClave is eager to leverage those opportunities to expand sales internationally.”
Florida-based companies looking to expand internationally can take advantage of the comprehensive exporting assistance – from counseling and advice to overseas trade missions – provided by Enterprise Florida and its economic development partners.
Last year, merchandise trade valued at $147.7 billion flowed through Florida’s ports with Florida-origin exports reaching $55 billion. Florida exported more goods than 190 countries in 2017, making the state one of the world’s leaders in international trade.
Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida’s businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for Florida. EFI facilitates job growth through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses. EFI launched “FLORIDA | THE FUTURE IS HERE” to promote the state as the nation’s premier business destination.
