Dodge County Lunch & Learn Will Discuss Global Expansion Opportunities for Local Companies
PRESS RELEASE: October 22, 2015
Together with Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP), the Dodge County Land Resources and Parks Department and Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) will host a Lunch & Learn for Dodge County bankers, attorneys, accountants and executive leadership of manufacturing companies to discuss global expansion opportunities. The Lunch & Learn will be held Monday, November 16 from 12pm-1:30pm at John Deere Horicon Works, 201 E. Lake Street, Horicon.
Topics at the event will include global economic and demographic trends, shifts in middle class consumption and populations, and the need for small-to-medium size manufacturers to diversify their customer base for growth and risk aversion.
“With 95% of the world’s consumers living outside the United States, it is more important than ever that Dodge County businesses consider global growth opportunities,” says Russell Kottke, Chairman, Dodge County Board of Supervisors. “I am pleased that we have partnered with WMEP and MadREP to bring this program to our community. It will be an important first step for many Dodge County manufacturers to start or expand their export strategy.”
The program will also include a discussion of WMEP’s ExporTech™ Program — a proven process to develop a company’s global export expansion strategy by focusing on markets with the greatest opportunity for return on investment (ROI), and least amount of risk. In five short years, ExporTech™ has produced two Governor’s Export Achievement Award winners and one U.S. Department of Commerce, President’s “E” Award for Excellence winner. Graduates of ExporTech™ have achieved sales increases averaging $900,000 in 6-9 months after completing the program.
“Reactive exporting is risky business. It is better to not export, than to reactively export. Without a plan, you risk time, money, legal entanglements, and customer disappointment, which hurts your brand,” notes Bruce A. Glaub, Vice President, Trade Finance & International, BMO Capital Markets. “Just as manufacturers have taken the waste out of their manufacturing processes with lean manufacturing, CEOs need to lean out their export business by carefully crafting an export expansion plan that drives revenue outcomes, builds ROI, and minimizes exporting risks. ExporTech™ is that process.”
The agenda for the program includes welcome remarks from Steve Johnson, Plant Manager, John Deere Horicon Works and Russell Kottke, Chairman, Dodge County Board of Supervisors; an overview of exports in Dodge County and the Madison Region from Michael Gay, Senior VP of Economic Development, MadREP; a presentation on the ExporTech™ Program from Roxanne Baumann, Director of Global Engagement, WMEP; and a presentation on STEP grant dollars available from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for ExporTech™ implementation.
There is no cost for this program, but space is limited. Interested participants should register by contacting Dean Perlick at 920.386.3710 or dperlick@co.dodge.wi.us.
Contacts:
Roxanne Baumann | 262.424.8279
Dean Perlick | 920.386.3710
Betsy Lundgren | 608.571.0404
