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Columbus, OH – Columbus 2020, the economic development organization for the 11-county Columbus Region, hosted a Columbus Region Trade Mission November 13-18, during which regional companies visited Mexico City and Monterrey to explore and enhance their exports to the Mexican market.
Led by Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb, the Mission was attended by five local companies: MES of Lewis Center; Polymer Technologies of Heath; Replex Plastics of Mt. Vernon; Sequent of Columbus; and xperion of Heath.
As part of the Mission, the companies utilized the export assistance services of the State of Ohio’s Mexico City office for market research and business matchmaking, and customized itineraries were prepared for each company for targeted meetings with potential customers, representatives, distributors and agents. The delegation met with various companies in both Mexico City and Monterrey, where they experienced strong interest in their product offerings and openness to do business. Participants also met with trade specialists at the U.S. Commercial Service’s Mexico City office and received briefings from the U.S. Commercial Service teams in Mexico City and Monterrey. Additionally, the delegation was provided a legal overview and briefing in Mexico City from the Sanchez Devanny law firm.
“Under the Columbus Global Connect strategy, Columbus 2020 strives to connect regional companies to resources that will help them grow their export markets, and the Mexico Trade Mission is part of that effort,” said Deborah Scherer, managing director, global trade and investment, Columbus 2020. “We couldn’t be more thrilled that several participating companies received sample orders during the Mission and all were able to make valuable contacts to strengthen their export opportunities.”
“Replex Plastics’ goal for the Mission was to explore the Mexican market and to meet with businesses looking to source plastic mirrors into Mexico,” said Mark Schuetz, president, Replex Plastics. “We were pleased by the level of interest in our products and the willingness of the Mexican companies to do business, and already have two sample orders in process. We are thankful to Columbus 2020 and the Ohio Development Services Agency for preparing a full agenda of high-quality, effective appointments in Mexico and we enjoyed our time with our peers from the Region.”
“The Mexico Trade Mission was highly beneficial for Sequent,” said Bill Hutter, chief executive officer, Sequent. “By meeting with several Global 500 companies in Mexico, we are able to refine our services to better adapt to the needs of the Mexican market. As a result of the Mission, we are now exploring the potential to partner with a firm in Mexico to launch our services there.”
“MES has a warehouse in Monterrey and we understand the importance of Mexico for our future growth,” said Randy Rhodes, director of sales and marketing, MES. “Columbus 2020’s Mexico Trade Mission helped us get meetings with potential customers, and through these meetings, we were able to introduce our supply chain services. We look forward to working closely with Columbus 2020 on trade efforts.”
“It was a pleasure to lead the Columbus Region Mexico Trade Mission, and it was a great learning experience,” said Tim Bubb, Licking County Commissioner. “I greatly appreciated the welcoming nature of the Mexican people and their hospitality. Additionally, I had the opportunity to visit with Tecnologico de Monterrey and Universidad Aeronáutica en Querétaro to hear their innovative ideas and programs related to workforce development – an issue very important to both Mexico and the United States – and was very impressed. The delegation was composed of a diverse set of impressive companies and each found the trip very beneficial. I congratulate the Columbus 2020 team for their efforts and hard work in the field of global trade and investment.”
Ohio’s exports to Mexico rose eight percent from 2014 to 2015, a trend that shows no sign of slowing down. In 2015, companies in the Columbus metro exported $1.06 billion worth of merchandise to Mexico, Ohio’s second-largest export market, and during the same year, the Columbus Region alone exported $10.7 billion in goods and services across the globe. In addition, 66,000 jobs are supported by exports in the Columbus Region.
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