THE ATLANTA SAW COMPANY PROVIDED A PERFECT POLITICALLY CORRECT BACKDROP FOR U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE MICKEY KANTOR’S COMMENTS ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAST WEEK.  MORE THAN 70 PERCENT OF ATLANTA SAW’S $10 MILLION IN ANNUAL SALES COMES FROM EXPORTS; THE COMPANY HAS BEEN LOCATED ON THE CITY’S SOUTH SIDE SINCE 1928 – AND IT HAS NO PLANS TO MOVE TO MEXICO OR ELSEWHERE.

CHAIRMAN EUGENE A. ANDERSON FIRST BECAME INTERESTED IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS WHEN HE STARTED GOING ON TRADE MISSIONS IN THE MID-1950S AND RECOGNIZED OPPORTUNITIES ABROAD TO SELL THE COMPANY’S BAND SAW BLADES AND CUTTING EDGES FOR THE MEAT PROCESSING INDUSTRY.

 WITH THE TELEVISION CAMERAS BEAMING, MR. KANTOR ASKED HIM IN HOW MANY COUNTRIES ATLANTA SAW’S PRODUCTS WERE SOLD, AND MR. ANDERSON REPLIED IN 84, ADDING PROUDLY, AND WHEN WE STARTED WE THOUGHT ATLANTA WAS GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST (MARKET).

WHILE THE MAJORITY OF ATLANTA SAW’S PRODUCTS ARE SOLD INTERNATIONALLY, ITS COMPANION COMPANY, THE SOUTHERN SAW SERVICE INC., WHICH IS AT THE SAME LOCATION AND HAS ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF ANNUAL SALES, EXPORTS ONLY ABOUT A QUARTER OF ITS PRODUCTION. BUT MR. KANTOR FOCUSED ON ATLANTA SAW SINCE FOREMOST ON HIS MIND WERE INTERNATIONAL ISSUES, MOST PARTICULARLY THE ADMINISTRATION’S SUPPORT FOR THE NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT AND THE OPPORTUNITIES IT WOULD OPEN UP FOR BOTH LARGE AND SMALL TO MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES.

 MR. KANTOR CITED ATLANTA SAW’S GROWTH OF EXPORTS TO MEXICO – FROM $29,000 IN 1989 TO $195,000 IN 1992 – DUE TO THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT’S LOWERING OF TRADE BARRIERS.  THE ENACTMENT OF NAFTA, HE SAID, WOULD INCREASE SALES FURTHER ALLOWING THE COMPANY TO DISSOLVE ITS JOINT VENTURE IN MEXICO.

ATLANTA SAW ORIGINALLY SET UP THE JOINT VENTURE, HE SAID,  WHEN HIGH TARIFFS MADE IT CHEAPER TO SUPPLY RAW MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY TO THE JOINT VENTURE FOR SALES IN MEXICO.  HOWEVER, HE CLAIMED ABOLISHING TARIFFS WOULD ENABLE ATLANTA SAW TO BRING BACK ITS SIX EMPLOYEES WHILE INCREASING ITS EXPORTS TO MEXICO. 

NAFTA WOULD BE OF PARTICULAR BENEFIT TO SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED FIRMS, MR. KANTOR SAID, BECAUSE THEY WOULD NO LONGER BE KEPT OUT BY COMPLEX LICENSING REQUIREMENTS OR BLOCKED FROM EXPORTING BY THE IMPACT OF 10 TO 20 PERCENT TARIFFS ON THEIR PROFIT MARGINS.

THE HIGH SKILLS AND PRODUCTIVITY OF THEIR EMPLOYEES HERE MEANS IT WILL BE CHEAPER TO MANUFACTURE HERE, HE ADDED. JOBS WILL COME HOME.

ALTHOUGH HE LIMITED MOST OF HIS COMMENTS TO U.S./MEXICAN TRADE RELATIONS, MR. KANTOR DID SAY THAT TRADE BARRIERS LIMITING RUSSIAN TRADE NEEDED TO BE CHANGED SO THAT IT COULD EARN HARD CURRENCY THROUGH TRADE NOT AID, AND ENABLE COMPANIES LIKE ATLANTA SAW TO SELL THERE.

BUT TARIFF BARRIERS DIDN’T BLOCK ATLANTA SAW’S EFFORTS TO EXPORT IN THE PAST, AND THE COMPANY IS CONTINUALLY LOOKING FOR NEW MARKETS WITH OR WITHOUT THE GOVERNMENT POLICIES BEING IN PLACE. AND, NOT SURPRISINGLY, MR. ANDERSON HAS FOUND A PRACTICAL STRATEGY FOR HIS COMPANY TO ENTER THE RUSSIAN MARKET.

UNTIL RUSSIA HAS THE MACHINES THAT  REQUIRE HIS PRODUCTS, THERE IS NO IMMEDIATE NEED TO RUSH IN, HE SAID. THE MARKET WILL OPEN FOR ATLANTA SAW, HE ADDED, AS SOON AS LARGER COMPANIES SUCH AS HOBART CORP., BASED IN TROY, OHIO, ARE WELL ESTABLISHED THERE.

HOBART, A LEADING SUPPLIER OF EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS FOR THE FOOD SERVICE AND FOOD RETAIL INDUSTRIES AND A BUYER OF ATLANTA SAW PRODUCTS FOR YEARS, HAS THE LARGEST AFTER-MARKET SERVICE ORGANIZATION IN THE INDUSTRY, WITH 240 SALES AND SERVICE LOCATIONS WORLDWIDE.  ALREADY HOBART EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN INSTALLED IN THE MOSCOW AIRPORT BY AEROMAR, THE JOINT VENTURE OF MARRIOTT’S AIRLINE CATERING DIVISION AND AEROFLOT AIRLINES.

HOW MUCH LONGER WILL IT BE BEFORE ATLANTA SAW’S PRODUCTS ARE IN DEMAND THERE AS WELL? MR. KANTOR COULDN’T PROVIDE ANY TIME FRAME FOR SMALL TO MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES TO CONFIDENTLY BE ABLE TO TRADE WITH RUSSIA, BUT IT IS DOUBTFUL THAT MR. ANDERSON WILL WAIT FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO GIVE THE WHISTLE WHEN IT IS TIME TO DO SO