Retrax Gets Things Covered
Retrax, a Grand Forks based manufacturer of retractable pick-up truck bed covers, has exported to the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. Retrax has used the U.S. Commercial service as partner to grow their exporting business, taking advantage of the services provided both internationally and locally.
Retrax has capitalized heavily on local export education opportunities. Retrax staff have participated in numerous seminars sponsored by the U.S. Commercial Service, including a 3-month ExporTech program; and training in International Documentation, NAFTA and Export Compliance. Export education seminars typically feature nationally recognized subject matter experts who bring their expertise to local businesses. For 3 of the 4 seminars Retrax participated in, nationally known export expert Mike Allocca shared his expertise with local businesses; and with the ExporTech program, a range of experts presented information and worked one-on-one with participating companies.
As a result of participating in U.S. Commercial Service educational programs, Retrax has become better prepared to handle the day-to-day questions that arise during the export process. For example, the company identified Angola as a potential market for their truck bed covers during their participation in ExporTech and Retrax was able to finalize an initial sale of 50 units to a distributor in Angola before the program completed. The documentation, NAFTA and compliance seminars helped Retrax gain significant in-house expertise on shipping to Canada and elsewhere.
“Importing/Exporting education is critical to any company expanding sales internationally not just for compliance but to build on relations in foreign countries and to have a better understanding of their cultures,” said Sarah Steffen from Retrax. “I take away a great deal of knowledge and appreciation for every training seminar I have completed and I hope to continue my education for the latest information and as a refresher. Our goal at Retrax is to build an Export Management & Compliance Program and expand our customer base in various countries and the trainings we have participated in have supported those goals.”
Retrax’s exports have increased significantly since their initial contact with the U.S. Commercial Service office in July 2009. Since then, the CS North Dakota office has assisted the company not only with education programs, but also with research, background checks, contact lists, documentation questions and trade shows for Mexico, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, western Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Retrax has expanded the number of countries it exports to from 3 in 2009 to over 15 countries now in 2015.
For more information on Retrax, visit their website at www.retrax.com and for information on the U.S. Commercial Service, call (701) 239-5080, or visit www.export.gov/northdakota.