By : News Sentinel staff
Source : http://www.knoxnews.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Tennessee producers of exportable goods received a leg-up from state officials Wednesday in the form of a new program to help small and medium-sized companies increase their offshore activity.
The TNTrade project is directed at small and medium-sized companies looking to expand export opportunities or sell their products overseas for the first time.
TNTrade involves the Market Access Program and a 2012 trade mission to China and South Korea to connect potential offshore customers with Tennessee medical device manufacturers and other health care industry representatives.
Gov. Bill Haslam and Commissioner Bill Hagerty of the state Economic and Community Development Department introduced the project, joined by officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Commercial Service and Tennessee Small Business Development Centers.
"The TNTrade program is key to our strategy to increase export activity in the state," Haslam said in a statement. "It is important to help our Tennessee businesses open up new markets, explore new sources of revenue and find new customers, all of which will improve the overall economy in the state and help us on our way to becoming the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs."
The project, funded by a $375,000 State Trade & Export Promotion (STEP) grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration was launched at the FedEx Institute of Technology in Memphis.
According to the state, the two primary components of TNTrade are:
The Market Access Program: Eligible businesses will receive a reimbursement equal to 50 percent of any one-time export-related expense, such as trade show participation or consultant fees, with a maximum reimbursement amount of $5,000 per company.
Medical Device Trade Mission: Economic and Community Development is to organize and fund the majority of the costs of a trade mission to China and South Korea for the medical device manufacturers and other health care companies in April.
"Gov. Haslam has placed an emphasis on promoting exports as part of our international economic development strategy," Hagerty said in a statement. "The funds awarded to us through the STEP grant will allow us to drive interest and activity in this aspect of our economy."
More information about TNTrade, including how to apply to participate in the trade mission or receive MAP funds, is available at www.tn.gov/ecd/tntrade.
The TNTrade initiative comes as the value of the state's exports is growing.
A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report in June said Tennessee ranked 10th in growth of its national share of exports. The value of Tennessee's exports in 2010 was $25.9 billion, which was 2 percent of total U.S. exports.
Tennessee firms exported nearly $7.5 billion worth of goods in the third quarter, a 10-percent gain from the comparable year-ago period, according to Middle Tennessee State University's Business and Economic Research Center. State exports — everything from whiskey to motor vehicle parts — are on pace to exceed a record $28 billion this year, three times the dollar value seen 15 years ago.
But not every region participates equally. In fact, the Chattanooga and Nashville metro areas have grown faster than any other part of the state since 1995 in terms of the percentage of companies that do some exporting.
"The counties that have seen significantly larger numbers of new exporters over the past decade and a half are, for the most part, the same counties in which export activity already exceeds the state average," the report said. "In other words, the rich are getting richer, and the gap between counties in terms of export performance is growing larger. This is a worrisome trend."
TNTrade is designed to be a three-year initiative, although federal funding is in hand only for the first year. The state hopes to secure more federal money from Washington for the second and third years.
Source : http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/dec/07/state-launching-export-program-for-smaller/
Source : http://www.knoxnews.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Tennessee producers of exportable goods received a leg-up from state officials Wednesday in the form of a new program to help small and medium-sized companies increase their offshore activity.
The TNTrade project is directed at small and medium-sized companies looking to expand export opportunities or sell their products overseas for the first time.
TNTrade involves the Market Access Program and a 2012 trade mission to China and South Korea to connect potential offshore customers with Tennessee medical device manufacturers and other health care industry representatives.
Gov. Bill Haslam and Commissioner Bill Hagerty of the state Economic and Community Development Department introduced the project, joined by officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Commercial Service and Tennessee Small Business Development Centers.
"The TNTrade program is key to our strategy to increase export activity in the state," Haslam said in a statement. "It is important to help our Tennessee businesses open up new markets, explore new sources of revenue and find new customers, all of which will improve the overall economy in the state and help us on our way to becoming the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs."
The project, funded by a $375,000 State Trade & Export Promotion (STEP) grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration was launched at the FedEx Institute of Technology in Memphis.
According to the state, the two primary components of TNTrade are:
The Market Access Program: Eligible businesses will receive a reimbursement equal to 50 percent of any one-time export-related expense, such as trade show participation or consultant fees, with a maximum reimbursement amount of $5,000 per company.
Medical Device Trade Mission: Economic and Community Development is to organize and fund the majority of the costs of a trade mission to China and South Korea for the medical device manufacturers and other health care companies in April.
"Gov. Haslam has placed an emphasis on promoting exports as part of our international economic development strategy," Hagerty said in a statement. "The funds awarded to us through the STEP grant will allow us to drive interest and activity in this aspect of our economy."
More information about TNTrade, including how to apply to participate in the trade mission or receive MAP funds, is available at www.tn.gov/ecd/tntrade.
The TNTrade initiative comes as the value of the state's exports is growing.
A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report in June said Tennessee ranked 10th in growth of its national share of exports. The value of Tennessee's exports in 2010 was $25.9 billion, which was 2 percent of total U.S. exports.
Tennessee firms exported nearly $7.5 billion worth of goods in the third quarter, a 10-percent gain from the comparable year-ago period, according to Middle Tennessee State University's Business and Economic Research Center. State exports — everything from whiskey to motor vehicle parts — are on pace to exceed a record $28 billion this year, three times the dollar value seen 15 years ago.
But not every region participates equally. In fact, the Chattanooga and Nashville metro areas have grown faster than any other part of the state since 1995 in terms of the percentage of companies that do some exporting.
"The counties that have seen significantly larger numbers of new exporters over the past decade and a half are, for the most part, the same counties in which export activity already exceeds the state average," the report said. "In other words, the rich are getting richer, and the gap between counties in terms of export performance is growing larger. This is a worrisome trend."
TNTrade is designed to be a three-year initiative, although federal funding is in hand only for the first year. The state hopes to secure more federal money from Washington for the second and third years.
Source : http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/dec/07/state-launching-export-program-for-smaller/
