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Registration Closes September 21 for Export Sales Mission to the Dominican Republic

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Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) will lead a delegation of small and mid-sized Florida businesses on an export sales mission to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from November 13-16. Registration to attend will end September 21.  [Read more…] about Registration Closes September 21 for Export Sales Mission to the Dominican Republic

Enterprise Florida Opens Pavilion at 2018 Farnborough International Airshow

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This morning, Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) opened the Florida Pavilion at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow. The Florida Pavilion is again the largest exhibit of any U.S. state at the event, showcasing 12 Florida-based aviation and aerospace businesses and organizations. The Farnborough Airshow is one of the world’s largest industry events and will be open through July 22.

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Enterprise Florida Trade Seminars Give Small Businesses Insight to German Markets

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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.”

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Florida Companies Report Nearly $13 Million in Export Sales Following FIDAE Air Show in Chile

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The recent Enterprise Florida-led export sales mission to the FIDAE Air Show in Santiago, Chile produced more than $12.6 million in total export sales for the five small and mid-sized Florida businesses in attendance. All five of the companies that exhibited in the Florida Pavilion received Target Sector Trade Grants. The air show was held April 3-8.

“The FIDAE show was another great opportunity for Florida businesses to exhibit their innovative products and services to a global market,” said Manny Mencia, senior vice president of international trade and development for Enterprise Florida. “The aerospace sector continues to be a strong one for Florida companies and this show provided unmatched access to companies in the Latin American market.”

This year marked the 20th anniversary of FIDAE as the leading aerospace and defense trade show in Latin America. The show is a vital and growing international aerospace event that addresses the full scope of commercial, military and space interests. The 2016 edition hosted some 580 exhibitors from 46 nations whose products and services, including 132 aircraft on the flight line, attracted more than 120,000 professional visitors, including 600 delegations from 31 countries.

Florida is a premier aerospace location, and is a top state for aerospace manufacturing attractiveness. Nearly 500 Florida companies excel in the industry, in areas from aircraft parts and assembly, to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Florida also offers unmatched space launch assets and talent.

“Enterprise Florida supported our international growth strategy – the cornerstone of our firm’s future – by giving us a generous grant to attend FIDAE,” said Adrian Viller, director of international business development for PartsBase in Boca Raton. “Our participation at FIDAE has allowed us to solidify partnerships in South America and beyond, introduced us to new prospects in the hemisphere, and will deliver thousands of dollars in new recurring revenue over the next years. 

“This was the first time Delta International Inc. has officially visited Chile and the FIDAE show in Santiago,” said Tony de la Torre, sales manager with Delta International in Miami. “Overall, the show was a success and great experience with the quality and number of contacts we established. Chile and the surrounding countries of the region (Argentina, Peru) are new markets for us and this show was an important first step in establishing business connections. The grant provided by Enterprise Florida was the determining factor in the decision to attend this trade show.”

Tatiana Vazquez, director of military sales for Ocean Air Defense in Miramar also attended the show. “FIDAE was a very successful event,” said Vazquez. “We hope to continue to work with our new found contacts in hopes of solidifying a mutually beneficial relationship. Our main objective is to make a presence within the Latin American market and support end users directly.”

Enterprise Florida maintains an extensive schedule of overseas trade missions and exhibitions worldwide. 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 to lead first-ever Service Export Trade Mission to Brazil

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Enterprise Florida will lead its first-ever Service Export Trade Mission to Sao Paulo, Brazil, from June 23 – 27, 2018. The mission will allow Florida small and mid-sized professional, transportation and financial service providers to meet with pre-qualified Brazilian companies and market their services. Brazil is Florida’s largest trade partner with bilateral trade of $19.8 billion in 2017, an increase of 9.4 percent over 2016.

“This is a new and innovative type of mission for us as it allows eligible Florida businesses to showcase their services,” said Manny Mencia, senior vice president of international trade and development for Enterprise Florida. “The Brazilian services sector accounts for two-thirds of their GDP and employs more than 65 percent of the country’s workforce. As the biggest sector in the country, services represent an excellent opportunity for Florida companies.”

Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America and the eighth largest economy in the world. It is ranked as the United States’ tenth-largest export market. With their strong preference for doing business with Florida, service providers are ideally positioned for growth.

The industries listed below provide the best opportunities for Florida’s service sector companies to do business with Brazil. Other opportunities available may not be listed. If your industry is not mentioned below, please contact us for a no-obligation assessment:

  • Accelerators, Incubators, Innovation Companies
  • Agribusiness Services
  • Architecture & Engineering Services
  • Aviation & Aerospace Services
  • Commercial Real Estate
  • Education & Training
  • Environmental
  • Financial Services
  • Information & Communication Technology & Software
  • Insurance
  • Legal Services
  • Logistics/Transport/Warehousing
  • Marketing/Advertising
  • Medical Services
  • Safety & Security Services
  • Tax & Auditing
  • Telecommunications Services
  • Travel & Tourism

Participation Option:

As part of EFI’s Gold Key Package, participants will have the opportunity to take advantage of the unparalleled trade facilitation services provided by the U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) in Sao Paulo. The USCS offers a variety of products and services designed to facilitate U.S. exports and foreign direct investment opportunities and will coordinate all one-on-one Gold Key Service appointments for this mission.

The U.S. Commercial Service will schedule one-on-one appointments with pre-screened Brazilian companies that have expressed an interest in the services of Florida companies in attendance. Gold Key participation will be limited to Florida service companies that best meet the participation criteria.

Selection of these firms will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Final selection will be determined by the U.S. Commercial Service Officer after the application is reviewed to ensure market suitability. The price of this service is $1,300 for the first company representative. Additional company representatives will be charged a $500 fee. This option is limited to 25 companies.

Florida service companies that best meet the participation criteria may qualify for a Gold Key Grant, which will offset 100 percent of the Matchmaking Registration fee for the first company representative. A separate application process will be required for this grant.

The Gold Key registration deadline is April 27, 2018. To register, please contact: Carlos Guerra | [email protected] | (305) 808-3590 or Joseph Bell |[email protected] | (813) 276-9430.

EFI maintains an extensive schedule of overseas trade missions and exhibitions worldwide. In Fiscal Year 2016-17, more than 500 small and mid-sized Florida businesses reported $738 million in total export sales following EFI international events.

Export Sales Mission to Costa Rica Produces More than $23 Million in Export Sales

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The recent Enterprise Florida-led export sales mission to San Jose, Costa Rica produced more than $23 million in total export sales for the 21 small and mid-sized businesses attending. The mission was held February 26 – March 1, 2018.

During the mission, more than 180 meetings were held between Florida businesses and their Costa Rican counterparts to jointly assess the local and, in some instances, Central America sales potential of their products and/or services.

The sales mission included an economic briefing from locally-based U.S. Government officials, providing the Florida delegation with valuable insights about how business is conducted in Costa Rica. Florida companies also had the opportunity to meet with U.S. commercial officers stationed in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Trade between the U.S. and Costa Rica totaled $10.2 billion in 2016, where Florida was the leading state in two-way trade. Costa Rica ranked as Florida’s 12th largest merchandise trading partner with nearly $3.6 billion in total trade and nearly $2.5 billion in exports alone in 2016.

“This event was extremely helpful for our company to introduce our products to this new market,” said Michael Rogers, president of e-Lifeguard.com in Rockledge. “The quality of leads was exceptional and the future potential prospects appear very promising for future sales to Costa Rica and Central America. This expansion will help us to grow our business in Florida and hire new workers to produce the goods needed for these new sales.  We also appreciate the introduction to area professionals in our market industry to help us learn about it locally.”

Kelly Wood, president of Nu-Trend Plastics in Jacksonville, attended the mission as well. The Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network connected the company to Enterprise Florida. “Nu-Trend Plastics is just entering into the export business,” Wood said. “The guidance and knowledge we have received from Enterprise Florida has been phenomenal! We are a small business and could not have been able to gain this exposure without the assistance of the grant. We were well prepared before leaving and the support received during the mission trip was outstanding. Before arriving we had ten appointments set. All clients we met with want to continue conversations and sent samples for Nu-Trend to quote. Thank you!”

“The experience of our first trade mission to Costa Rica has opened our eyes to both the demand for our products and services outside the U.S., as well as the strength of the collaboration between the US Trade offices and Enterprise Florida,” said Helda Rodriguez, president of Oldsmar-based NovaCharge LLC. “As Gold Key participants, both the customer and partner leads provided to us, and the meetings set up on our behalf during the event, far exceeded our expectations. This potential for future business has already caused us to assess the staff we will require and the added services spending we will need to begin a successful export business. While we have yet to determine our final plans, we expect to add sales staff and operational staff to address our expanded reach outside of Florida, as we grow to address the opportunities in Costa Rica and other potential markets.”

EFI maintains an extensive schedule of overseas trade missions and exhibitions worldwide. In Fiscal Year 2016-17, more than 500 small and mid-sized Florida businesses reported $738 million in total export sales following international events.

Companies that attended the Costa Rica mission: