Green Worldwide Shipping is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Trade Channel. Sign up here for monthly global trade updates.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s efforts on export assistance this year focused on smaller companies and were widely dispersed throughout the state, according to a report outlining the Trade Division’s achievements during the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Nearly 1,400 companies in 130 of Georgia’s 159 counties received customized help, which ranges from market research to trade show assistance. The division had direct contact with about double that number, some 2,829 companies.
While half the firms that sought help from the department had fewer than 20 employees, there is some evidence from the number of “export successes” — companies that actually entered new markets — that size can indicate how likely they are to act on their newfound trade knowledge.
With only 27 percent of the department’s engagements, companies with between 20 and 100 employees made up 44 percent of the 267 overall export successes. These new projects, all told, resulted in $27.8 million in sales for Georgia companies in 39 countries. The top industries for successful exporters were aerospace, manufacturing, food, construction and health care.
Still, the report notes, 77 percent of engagements and 81 percent of successes were attributable to small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 100 employees, the department’s bread and butter.
The state’s representatives in 12 countries also provided key support, working on 81 percent of the division’s engagements. Nearly all of the export leads unearthed for Georgia firms — 96 percent, to be exact — came through these offices located in Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, United Kingdom/Ireland, Europe, China, Israel, South Korea and Japan.
Read the report here.
Disclosure: GDEcD’s Trade Division is an annual sponsor of Global Atlanta; this piece is not sponsored content.
The Pendleton Group is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Economic Development Channel. Subscribe here for monthly Economic Development newsletters.
