Hartford Business Journal

96 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2015 Shaping Connecticut's Future By Anne S. Evans, District Director, U.S. Department of Commerce I n 2014, Connecticut's manufactur- ers exported $16 billion of products worldwide. Our top trading partners are France, Canada and Germany, with grow- ing export expansion in the Middle East and Asia — but even the Cook Islands, Gam- bia and Greenland import products from Connecticut. Connecticut products are well known beyond our borders. Successful exporters supply their overseas customers with products that provide greater efficiency, cost savings or have a unique quality that can't be supplied in their local economy. Here in Connecticut, we will never grow great fields of grain, mine for minerals, or pump oil and gas, but our state boasts a signifi- cant manufacturing sector that supplies prod- ucts to the world. Our aircra engine and he- licopter industry is an aerospace supply chain leader globally. Our precision manufacturing companies produce everything from medical device components to mining sensors that are used in more than 100 overseas markets. As exports increase, businesses have to grow their workforces in order to satisfy greater demands in both domestic and inter- national markets. In Connecticut, 79,700 jobs are export-related, and for every $200,000 of products exported, one new Connecticut job is added to our state's economy. We see this every day when a com- pany reports to us that an export sale we supported generated new revenue to the company and it has added jobs. But such companies also report that skilled employees are difficult to find. Connecticut companies have become reliant on our technical schools and community colleges to train employ- ees in precision manufacturing and global competiveness. To sustain our exporters, we must support skilled training at the technical school and community college level. e types of companies that export goods and services run the gamut. One example is Dymotek, a world-class injection molding company that specializes in plastic and silicone and has locations in Ellington and Somers. Dymotek works with Asnuntuck Commu- nity College in Enfield to support its employee training and internship program. Over the past 25 years, the firm has honed its molding skills and experienced significant growth. Just a few years ago, the company was located in a 35,000-square-foot facility with 40 employ- ees and a very small engineering staff. It now occupies more than 80,000 square feet in two facilities. Its workforce has more than doubled, with more than 110 employees and a 10-per- son engineering staff. is growth is largely due to its exports. "Because our interna- tional business provides a majority of our sales, the correlation between increased exports and employment is undeniable," says Dymotek's chief technology officer, Victor Morando. "As our revenue sales doubled in two years, so too has our company grown its workforce." While exporting is an important factor in the company's success, it purchases most of its supplies — including robotics, injec- tion molded presses, and packaging — from regional companies. Dymotek has a deep- seated belief in buying local and supporting jobs in our region. Educational partnerships for innovation and research are also essential in growing our state's international trade. Every success- ful manufacturing region has a university innovation partnership. We must continue to increase our manufacturers' utilization of the UConn School of Engineering Business Partnership program to bring innovation to our local companies. A leader in Connecticut's innovative companies, CiDRA of Wallingford has more than 500 U.S. and international patents. Founded in 1996 by UConn graduate and CEO Kevin Didden, the privately held com- pany is a leading supplier of process optimiza- tion and enhanced recovery solutions to many of the world's largest industrial markets. Every day, more than 400 customers in 43 countries depend on CiDRA's industrial sen- sors and other products and services to man- age and optimize their industrial processes. For example, CiDRA uses its sonar technology to provide flow measurement in industries such as Mineable Oilsands, Minerals Process- ing, Concrete, and Chemical Management for Pulp and Paper and Power Generation. Do you have an exportable product? Call us. We are the "Friendly Feds" — the Connecticut District office of the Depart- ment of Commerce in Middletown. We are the 211, 411, 511 and 911 of exports. Our trade specialists provide counseling for man- ufacturers and service providers interested in marketing their products globally. Our office helps more than 5,700 exporting companies in Connecticut expand their global sales. We work with the U.S. Commercial Service offices in more than 80 countries to provide a variety of services, including export training, trade counseling, trade mis- sions, trade show support, business match- making, market intelligence, and commer- cial advocacy. ese services help companies make sales in overseas countries. If you own or operate a Connecticut company and are interested in bringing your USA-made products to the global market, please contact our office. ❑ Beyond Our Borders Join the thousands of Connecticut companies exporting their products PHOTO/HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL FILE | STEVE LASCHEVER For more articles from CT officials on Shaping Connecticut's Future visit www.DoingBusinessinCT.com ' Connecticut products are well known beyond our borders. ' — Anne S. Evans, district director, U.S. Department of Commerce

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