The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced their Export Video Contest and SteelMaster Buildings in Virginia Beach, VA was named the one of the five finalists representing the Agribusiness category.
In August, the SBA launched the Export Video Contest asking small businesses to submit their exporting stories through YouTube videos for a chance to win prizes and awards towards a future export event. The contest, presented in partnership with Visa and President Obama's National Export Initiative, recognizes successful small business exporters and helps to circulate information about federal tools available to assist U.S. exporters into new markets to grow their companies.
Steelmaster Buildings' winning video was submitted under the Agribusiness Category titled Building Beyond Our Borders highlighting the company's growth in exporting over the past 5 years. The video recounts SteelMaster's exporting story from the time the decision was made to expand exporting efforts through their current business success in international markets. In fact, SteelMaster has been able to expand their distributor network to over 50 countries and has doubled their exporting sales year over year for the past 5 years.
SteelMaster's success in exporting began after reaching out to governmental resources including the SBA, Virginia Export Development Partnership (VEDP), Export-Import Bank, and U.S. Commercial Services.
SteelMaster Vice President Rob Poellnitz acknowledges these organizations for guiding the company through its foray into the global marketplace when the domestic market became saturated by competition and the U.S. dollar weakened. "Initially, we applied for a VEDP-sponsored grant that was available for companies that wanted to expand internationally," says Poellnitz. "It really opened our eyes to what was out there, and we learned a lot from experiences shared by similarly positioned companies. It also helped us develop confidence."
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