looked at, how much time they spent on our site.” All this, he says, helps him gauge interest in Dacor’s products and may indicate areas of future sales.

Orlando says he’s now much more confident about exporting thanks to Dill, Gottlieb and the MO SBTDC and its partners. He and Dill are now exploring the Canadian and Mexican markets where Dacor previously sold many units through another company.

“That’s the nice thing about Larry, Margaret and the entire team. They have given me more confidence to pursue the international market as partners. I am always throwing stuff at them, and they always respond. It [exporting] is a lot more than sending chairs over there and you’re done. It’s very important to work with someone we can trust, and I trust them.”

Next, Orlando says he will be moving the chairs’ manufacturing from Illinois to Missouri because of the Show-Me State’s more reasonable workers compensation payment, liability insurance and building maintenance costs.

American Food Exporters, LLC

American Food Exporters, LLC, Creve Coeur, is also solidly grounded in the Midwest, especially its agriculture. As the developing world’s purchasing power, especially that of Asia, continues to grow, so does the newly minted middle class’ interest in the American lifestyle.

Hot cocoa mix with marshmallows, instant oatmeal with lower-sugar maple

brown sugar and potato chips may not seem terribly exotic to most Missourians, but they are to many Chinese.

“These countries want snack foods, such as cookies, chips and crackers,” says David Shogren, COO of American Food Exporters, a union of two firms specifically formed to export American foods with a longer shelf life. Traditional Chinese cooking does not emphasize such foods, and it’s easier to start with an easily purchased, easily consumed food that requires no preparation.

Shogren, who has more than 25 years of food industry experience, helps the company analyze and develop innovative sales and marketing programs from a practical, cultural and economic perspective.

But he knew he could learn more, so he enrolled in a series of all-day MO STEP=UP Export Training Program seminars last year. Larry Dill, the MO SBTDC’s International Trade Center director, then visited the company and helped Shogren develop an export plan.

During the process, he says, Dill made him aware of the array of SBTDC international expertise, including

the ability to perform research on target markets, help determine the market potential of food products from tortilla chips to baby formula powder in target countries and determine which nations are importing American foodstuffs and how

fast demand is growing. Shogren says these tools will help a great deal in terms of identifying the right markets at the right time with the right product mix.

Shogren says his firm is appreciative of the MO STEP=UP program to better leverage the company’s international promotional and travel budget to food trade shows and other events all over the world. Shogren himself does his share of traveling, flying to China about four times a year, among other destinations.

But he says Jakarta, the capital and largest city of Indonesia with a population of around 10 million, is his favorite destination. American Food Exporters sees great potential in that nation, along with Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Columbia, the Dominican Republic and Honduras.

“The people, the culture, are the most diverse of any place I’ve ever been,” he says. “Most Americans don’t realize it, but Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the fourth most

populous nation in the world [the U.S. is third]. Maybe it’s not as rich as

China,” says Shogren, “but it has enormous natural resources, a thriving middle class. We see enormous potential.”

Two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power resides outside the U.S. Quite simply, the old rules of doing business only in America no longer apply. Companies that truly want to grow can’t afford to ignore the export market. The MO SBTDC international trade specialists help Missouri firms seize global opportunities.

March 2013

According to the SBA, 97 percent of all U.S. exporters are small businesses, and 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States. This represents an enormous opportunity for small firms.

But knowing where to start can be tough. According to a recent SBA survey, 40 percent of businesses surveyed expressed

concern about entering new overseas markets because they didn’t know how to begin.That’s where the Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers’

International Trade Center can help. Headed by Larry Dill of the St. Louis Regional SBTDC, the Center can help Missouri businesses in four broad areas:

• International market research•Management capacity and planning•Supply chain and logistical support •Trade finance

“Our mission is quite simply to help Missouri businesses export their products to other parts of the world,” says Dill. “And we have the best partnership in the country to do so.”

The International Trade Center strongly believes in collaborating with private and public partners to create or secure export plans, networking opportunities, vital contacts, finance, logistics and more. The staff works closely with the U.S. Department of Commerce, SBA export programs, Missouri Department of Economic Development Office of International Trade and Investment, Missouri Department of Agriculture, the World Trade Centers in Kansas City and St. Louis and other entities.

“We all work together,” Dill says. “We refer clients to each other. There’s no competition. We’re united toward one goal – to help small businesses in Missouri grow internationally. We collaborate more than anyone else in the country.”

Exporting is more important now than ever before. Not only does it result in increased sales and broader markets, exporting offers enhanced opportunities for employee advancement, a faster business growth rate and an 8.5 percent lower likelihood of going out of business than a solely domestic market-oriented company.

Here are the stories of three fascinating companies the MO SBTDC has helped grow into exporting.

Tapping the Global Market

TRANSFORMATION is published by the Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers, with assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration, University of Missouri Extension, Missouri Southern State University and the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. Questions and comments may be directed to Mary Paulsell, Director of Communications, MO SBTDC, at 573-882-1353 or paulsellm@missouri.edu.

The MO SBTDC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Many Missouri businesses think they are too small to compete.

RK Stratman, Inc.

The Buffalo Bike gets attention wherever it goes.

A customized 1980 FLT Harley-Davidson completely draped in buffalo hide is the brainchild of Ron Stratman, founder of Harley apparel business-to-business manufacturer and retailer RK Stratman, Inc., in Wentzville. The bike reflects the deep passion, playfulness and joy Stratman and most of his employees feel about motorcycles.

It’s that same passion that led Stratman into manufacturing Harley Davidson apparel. The road has been a long and winding one.

In the 1960s, Stratman owned a thriving painting company; his hobby was competitive motorcycle racing. To support his avocation, his family sold souvenirs at racing events across the country. In 1969, he and his family began producing Harley and other shirts and racing items from his garage; at that time, companies didn’t license merchandise as well as they do today.

Eventually, in an effort to regain control of its brand, the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. required all Harley merchandisers to be licensed. Stratman was granted one of the original 12 licenses in 1983 and decided to focus his company’s attention solely on Harley-Davidson T-shirts and other apparel. Today, the firm employs more than 320 people in its sprawling, 305,000-square-foot facility, which includes an art design division, screen printing, sales and marketing.

Harley’s is one of the world’s most recognized logos, and Stratman’s shirts, singlets, tanks, sweatshirts and thermals are sold by Harley dealers worldwide.

Stratman customizes the garment’s back with the dealer’s name, logo and other pertinent information, be that dealer in

Philadelphia, Zurich or Beijing.Because the American motorcycle demographic

is aging, international sales are increasingly

important to company profits.

The growth in motorcycle sales

and accompanying branded merchandise has far more potential overseas. In addition, Australia offers another promising market. Stratman already sold a respectable amount of apparel to dealers Down Under, but believed it could do better. Their

Australian competitors had printing and distribution facilities or relationships in place, but Stratman staff saw these dealers didn’t maximize apparel merchandising opportunities.

The company scented opportunity, says Art Gompper, Stratman sales and marketing manager. The firm had heard of the MO SBTDC’s International Trade Center and what it had done to increase sales for other Missouri exporters and turned to the Center for ideas.

Jackie Rasmussen, international team member and business development specialist with the MU Extension Camden County SBTDC and a New Zealand native; Larry Dill, director of the MO SBTDC’s International Trade Center; and other international team members got to work outlining possible strategies for Stratman to expand in Australia. Steps include establishing a dedicated customer service support team and perhaps an Australian distribution center. Stratman may either partner with an existing in-country printing facility, or it may establish its own. The ideas are already yielding benefits in terms of increased sales.

The team also introduced the firm to U.S. Department of Commerce export

assistance programs, including the Gold Key Matching Service, which helps exporters find and pre-screen potential overseas agents, distributors, sales reps and business partners, saving exporters a significant amount of time. And the team assisted Stratman in navigating the notoriously difficult Chinese customs process as well.

Stratman apparel was being mishandled during shipment somewhere between Chinese customs and its ultimate destination, the dealer. Two orders for different dealers arrived in less than perfect condition.

The MO SBTDC team, through its network of partners and contacts, was able to refer the company to a different freight forwarder more familiar with the Chinese market, and Stratman apparel has been flowing more smoothly to Chinese Harley dealers since.

With center support, they have also begun exploring the Indian market. In 2010, Harley-Davidson started selling motorcycles to a newly minted middle class eager to experience the freedom of riding the open road.

“India is different but it’s the same,” says Gompper, himself a dedicated bike rider. “It’s the same allure. The Harley experience centers around freedom, getting on a bike away from cities and congestion, out on the open road. Indian roads may not be the same as ours, but they have beaches and mountains, too.”

More recently, Rasmussen and Dill steered the company into MO STEP=UP, an SBA funding program that helps defray the costs of foreign sales trips, trade shows, translation services and other exporting costs. That was something in which Stratman could see immediate benefit.

“It’s been a huge eye-opener,” said Gompper of foreign expenditures. Company sales reps recently completed a trip to a Barcelona trade show, followed by visits to Harley dealers in the U.K., Ireland, Switzerland and Germany.

“It’s proven to be very expensive to get

out there to trade shows internationally, meet new dealers and contacts,” Gompper says. He is now filing for MO STEP=UP reimbursement, and expects the program to be even more valuable down the road.

“Jackie and Larry have been great!” Gompper concludes. “I feel fortunate to be able to work with them. They’re very enthusiastic about what they do. Sometimes, you go to someone for help and all you get is a big sigh, but not them. They not only help, they’ve introduced me to more and more programs. They’ve opened so many doors for us.”

Dacor Manufacturing, LLC

Mitch Orlando, president of Dacor Manufacturing, LLC, Fenton, is considering a trip to Saudi Arabia.

Like RK Stratman, Orlando is exploring the possibilities of the MO STEP=UP program. He wants to travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to attend Saudi Health, one of the largest medical trade shows in the world.

Dacor’s products travel quite well – to the Red Cross Blood

Donor Centre in King Edward VII

Memorial

Hospital, Camden, Bermuda; to Canada and Mexico, western Europe and U.S. military bases; and to nations most exporters don’t consider, such as Romania, Rwanda and Bangladesh.

Dacor manufactures something in true worldwide demand – blood donor chairs.

If you can even call them chairs. These sleek, durable, often colorful

pieces of furniture look and feel more like sofas than chairs. The chairs are handcrafted with an all-hardwood frame, have layered foam over springs and feature Flexilators, tempered steel coil and grid spring platforms, most commonly used in home furniture. All this makes the chairs comfortable enough to be in for long periods of time. They also have an actuator motor or manual lever for positioning and a contract-grade, anti-microbial finish that protects against stains, abrasions and bacterial growth. They’re almost indestructible, and testimonials from facilities as far apart as Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital, North Carolina and Bucharest, Romania swear they won’t use anything else.

“We are old school,” Orlando says. “We haven’t changed the quality of the material components of these chairs. We know that some of the original chairs built 40 years ago are still being used today. We don’t want to mess with something that works.”

But Bangladesh? The small southeast Asian nation jammed between India and Burma is not known as a lucrative export market.

“I was kind of nervous,” admits Orlando of that nation’s initial order of 30 chairs. The Bangladeshi national health care system has since ordered an additional 60 chairs. “But Larry Dill, director of the MO SBTDC International Trade Center in St. Louis helped us so much with the letter of credit and recommended a good freight forwarding company to work with.”

Orlando says he had never used a letter of credit before and was rather overwhelmed at the prospect.

“It was much more complicated than I thought it would be, probably one of the most complicated things we’ve ever done,” he says. “Our biggest concern was getting burned. For Rwanda [a previous order], we used direct deposit. We got half down, and before we shipped them we asked for the balance, which they deposited.”

But a letter of credit was a completely different animal. Dill recommended bankers with international experience to help navigate its complexities, to the satisfaction of both Dacor and the Bangladeshi national health care system.

The MO SBTDC and its partners helped him deal with a few other unforeseen wrinkles, too.

Bangladesh, like most Muslim nations, has an Israeli embargo clause. Any goods shipped to Bangladesh can’t use Israeli equipment, materials, suppliers or bidders, and the deal can’t be consummated without that stipulation. Luckily, Margaret Gottlieb, international trade specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. Export Assistance Center in St. Louis, knew of the embargo clause and pointed it out for Orlando’s signature.

Orlando says it’s been quite a learning experience. But he keeps an open mind. He now carefully tracks dealer inquiries and checks Google analytics daily to see who’s visited the website.

“For example, I can see we’ve gotten hits from Romania, the Netherlands, Libya, India, France, the Philippines and Argentina, and that’s just in the past five days. I can also tell how many pages they

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“That’s the nice thing about Larry, Margaret and the entire team. They have given me more confidence to pursue the international

market as partners.I am always throwing stuff at them, and they always respond. Exporting is a lot more than sending chairs

over there and you’re done. It’s very important

to work with someone we can trust, and I trust them.”