For three months this year, senior executives with five Hampton Roads companies underwent an intensive program aimed at developing a plan to sell their product or service to overseas markets.

这个项目, co-facilitated by Old Dominion's 技术 Application Center (part of 美国niversity's Center for Enterprise Innovation), comprised the first group of Virginia companies to complete 美国.S. 商务部's ExporTech program.

在社交场合. 1 at bet8体育娱乐入口, participants expressed how fortunate they were to participate in the inaugural Virginia program.

"It was a fantastic experience,——Mike Smack, Mission Mobility首席执行官, said during the reception at bet8体育娱乐入口's Baron & Ellin 戈登艺术画廊. “在房间里, 这些密集的会议, with five companies doing completely different things made for an incredible learning experience as we worked through problems together."

Smack said Mission Mobility is seeking to reorient away from military clients for its product, mobile technology solutions for remote locations. 因为这个原因, the support and resources that Mission Mobility could access through ExporTech made it a one-of-a-kind experience. "We are just so thankful for the opportunity, and for bet8体育娱乐入口's role in facilitating it."

The four other local companies who took part in the three-month ExporTech program were Descal-A-Matic, 公司., Grandwatt Electric Corporation, Netarus and Paramount.

"The success of this program comes from bringing together federal, state and local resources to provide focused support for the participating companies,J说。.C. Brinker, associate director of the bet8体育娱乐入口 Business Gateway, which administers services and programs offered under the Center for Enterprise Innovation, including the 技术 Application Center.

"The expertise we can provide, or link these companies to, can help them be competitive in a global marketplace, 反过来, help the Hampton Roads economy,他说.

After three months of training, RESEARCH, 计划和指导, each participating company completed and presented a detailed plan for the countries in which they plan to grow their export business. They pitched to a panel of company experts from local practicing export companies, as well as the other members in the cohort, where they were peppered with questions and offered advice and recommendations on implementing their plans to achieve the growth they are anticipating by their international expansion.

Among the federal and Virginia partners who contributed to ExporTech are 美国.S. 商务部, the National Institute of Standards and 技术's Manufacturing Extension Partnership, 美国.S. 出口援助办事处, Virginia's Genedge Alliance and the City of Norfolk's Department of Economic Development.

也, several local professional and business volunteers offered their services as mentors and resource providers for the ExporTech client companies.

在这个队列中, Virginia becomes the 31st state to participate in the ExporTech program since it was launched in 2007. To date, more than 700 companies have leveraged this program to rapidly expand their global sales.