The recent Midlands International Trade Association (MITA) mission to Mexico is already generating results for five companies from across the Carolinas.
“I have already quoted about $30,000 worth of equipment to one of the contacts that I met in Guadalajara,” said delegate Michael Presley of Separation Dynamics, Fountain Inn.

“We are currently working on four other projects (in Monterrey and Reynosa) with a potential of $250,000,” he said. “ The trip to Monterrey helped me develop this relationship and also find a partner that may be able to provide service support for our products in Mexico.”

The week-long mission to Guadalajara and Monterrey was coordinated by the Midlands International Trade Association, Columbia U.S. Export Assistance Center, the S.C. Department of Commerce and The Export Consortium. The City of Columbia Office of Economic Development was the principal sponsor. Bank of America and DHL also served as sponsors.

In addition to Presley, mission participants included: Jack Taylor, Thermal Engineering, Columbia; Russ Yelton, Superior Modular Products, Swannanoa, NC; Michael O’Leary, Rhythmlink, Columbia; Mark Masters, DMP Corp., Rock Hill; Deidre Crow, City of Columbia; Mike Flack, Columbia Metropolitan Airport; Amy Thomson, S.C. Department of Commerce; Jayne Woodward, Columbia U.S. Export Assistance Center; and Greg Hilton, The Export Consortium.

The mission’s first stop was Guadalajara where the U.S. Commercial Service post started the week with a breakfast briefing on doing business in Mexico. Participants also took part in individual company meetings that were prearranged under the U.S. Commercial Service’s Gold Key Service Program. The five companies met with a total of 25 Mexican contacts over a two-day period.

“I was blown away by the quality of the reps we interviewed,” said Mark Masters, whose company DMP Corp. manufactures industrial water treatment equipment.
“I am 90 percent certain we will do business with five of the reps, two of which I believe will result in more than $1 million each per year,” he added.

Masters said a DMP sales manager has already made a follow up visit to Mexico and two Mexican reps are scheduled to visit South Carolina later this month.
In Monterrey, the delegation visited Expo Manufactura, Mexico’s largest metalworking/manufacturing exhibition and attended the exhibitors’ reception. The group also met with Aaron Held, vice-consul for Commercial Affairs, USCS Monterrey, and toured Cerveceria Cuauhtemac, the maker of Carta Blanca, Sol and Bohemia beer and one of the key players in the establishment of Monterrey as a business town.

Michael O’Leary of Rythmlink said the trade mission enabled him to learn a lot about social medicine in Mexico as well as the demographics. Rhythmlink manufactures neurological accessories and has sold directly to end-users but is interested in finding a distributor for its products.

“Mexico is a fantastic venue for Rhythmlink and other South Carolina companies,” O’Leary said. “The appointments that were prearranged were very good and the candidates I met with were high quality.”

Since the trade mission, O’Leary has made a return trip to Mexico to attend a trade show. He has also been involved in discussions with three distributors and has requested International Company Profiles (ICP’s) on these companies through the Columbia U.S. Export Assistance Center.