Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 28, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  Kate Sandboe, Washington State Department of Agriculture, 360-902-1815; Michelle Zahrly, Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, 360-725-4019

Gov. Gary Locke Declares Mexico Trade Mission Huge Success

Gov. Gary Locke today announced that his international trade mission to Mexico was extremely successful, with businesses on the mission reporting an estimated $6 million in projected sales during the next 12 months.

Locke led a 19-member delegation of business and agriculture leaders from around the state to Mexico City and Guadalajara June 21-24. He was accompanied by Valoria Loveland, director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture; and Juli Wilkerson, director of the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED).

“Our trade missions yield results,” Locke said. “By having face-to-face meetings with government, business and agricultural leaders in other countries, we have opened the doors of international trade for Washington businesses and farmers. That stimulates our economy.”

“Mexico is one of our top trading partners, and this mission further strengthened our two-way trade relationship,” he said. “Our delegates have reported solid leads, contacts and potential sales. Some are even interested in buying goods from Mexico.”

Locke said he was pleased with the outcome of his meetings with Mexican President Vicente Fox, Secretary of Economy Fernando Canales and Secretary of Agriculture Javier Usabiaga. “We addressed issues of great concern to Washington growers,” he said. “We received assurances that these issues would be resolved in the very near future.”

Mexico has placed extremely high tariffs on U.S. apples, accusing U.S. producers of bringing apples into the country below value. “We were told that we could expect an announcement in a very short period of time that this issue has been resolved,” Loveland said. “We are also excited about the prospect of additional markets for fresh Washington potatoes in Mexico.”

Loveland said they continue to work with Mexican officials to try to get Washington cherries into Mexico, and that the mission helped further those discussions.

Locke and Loveland also promoted Washington apples during visits to markets in Mexico City and Guadalajara.

“The one-on-one marketing by the governor on behalf of Washington apples in Mexico creates much goodwill with consumers and with the crucial – and growing – Mexican supermarket sector, through which more than half of Washington apples are distributed,” said mission delegate Tracy King, export director for the Washington Apple Commission.

Wilkerson said the business delegates were also successful on the mission.

“We were very pleased with the results and with how much our companies were able to accomplish in just a few days time,” she said. “We were again reminded of the importance of face-to-face contact when developing international business relationships. Each company returned with direct contacts in Mexico that hold significant prospects for future sales, and our delegates reported that the meetings and the contacts they made exceeded their expectations.”

Listed below are examples of successes from mission delegates:

Leader International Corporation, Port Orchard – Among Leader’s many divisions and products, the company manufactures steel furniture and amenities (trash receptacles, picnic tables, benches, tree guards, etc.) for public parks and other outdoor settings. The company’s trash receptacles featuring removable advertising placards are used in Times Square in New York City.

Leader met with several potential distributors and end users in Mexico, laying the groundwork for future orders. The company also established key contacts for becoming a supplier to the second phase of Mexico City’s historic district reconstruction project. Leader also had several successful meetings in Guadalajara and expects sales to result in the near future.

“We would have never thought to sell our products in Mexico without this mission,” said mission delegate Richard A. Flaherty, president and CEO of Leader. “I can’t imagine what it would have cost or how long it would have taken for us to make these contacts on our own. We are very encouraged by our meetings in Mexico City and Guadalajara, and we’d like to thank the governor and the state staff for matching us up so well with potential clients.”

Pro Refrigeration, Auburn – Pro Refrigeration manufactures refrigeration process chillers and condensing units. Its Pro Chiller System is used in the dairy, bakery, wine and brewery industries.

The company already has a successful relationship for distribution of its products to Mexico’s dairy market. On the mission, it explored new export opportunities in the brewing industry. Pro Refrigeration expects to receive a new purchase order within the next month as a direct result of the Mexico mission.

“In addition to having very successful meetings with potential clients within the specific industries and criteria we requested, we also had meetings with customers in markets we have had little exposure to up until now,” said mission delegate Jim VanderGiessen, Jr., general manager and CEO of Pro Refrigeration. “My expectations have been greatly exceeded.”

Northwest Lions Foundation for Site and Hearing, Seattle – Among its many programs to help the sight- and hearing-impaired, the foundation provides high quality, low-cost hearing aids to low-income populations. Its goal on the mission was to learn how hearing aids are distributed in Mexico, and how to help low-income people in Mexico gain access to hearing aids.

The foundation met with potential partners and is now exploring the development of a national campaign in Mexico. The governor discussed this prospect in his meeting with President Fox.

“We have been able to accomplish in two days what it might have taken us two years to achieve on our own,” said mission delegate Michael Langhout, foundation vice president. “I am very grateful to have been a part of this.”

Keystone Fruit Company and Mayan Heritage, Riverside
Global Foods, Bellevue

Mission delegates Greg Zaser, president and CEO of Keystone Fruit Company, and Rick Weis, founder of Global Foods, have formed a partnership called Mayan Heritage. They both attended the mission and report progress in selling their products to Mexico, as well as buying tropical fruits from Mexico.

“Not only did we start to build viable business relationships with our buyers here in Mexico but this mission also gave us the opportunity to meet and build important and essential relationships with representatives of the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the USDA,” Zaser said. “Successful trade with Mexico is extremely dependant on strong personal relationships. The governor’s participation added tremendous credibility to our visit, and I am certain will contribute greatly to building our relationships and our successes in the immediate future.”

Weis said, “This mission has been a huge success. With the credibility of the governor’s trade mission behind us, we have been able to secure orders on a handshake. I anticipate four or five large orders as a result of this mission.”

Boxlight Corp., Poulsbo – Boxlight is a worldwide provider of projection equipment for government, industry, education and other institutional uses. Boxlight CEO Herb Myers also attended the governor’s 1999 Mexico trade mission, where he was able to expand the company’s distribution in Mexico.

Myers’ objective on this mission was to widen his knowledge of the Mexican market and make contact with the U.S. Embassy staff in Mexico who could help expand the company’s business.

“My expectations were definitely met on this mission,” Myers said. “As part of a delegation headed by our governor, doors were opened that would have taken months or years t accomplish in the normal course of events. The fact that we were part of the governor’s trade mission will add credibility as we talk to potential customers in the future. This was a successful and meaningful trip directly affecting the positive future of Boxlight in Mexico.”

Itron, Inc., Spokane – Itron is a leading technology provider and critical source of knowledge to the global energy and water industries, providing solutions for automatic meter data collection. The company’s goal on the mission was to meet with key public works decision makers.

“Our objectives on this mission were fully met,” said Steve Helmbrecht, vice president, international, for Itron. “Participating in the governor’s mission helped open doors and establish key relationships, which are important to our success in the Mexican market.”

Topics Entertainment, Renton – Topics publishes consumer software. The company’s main objective on the mission was to target the Public Secretariat of Education in Mexico to introduce its learning software, audio and workbooks to the education channel in Mexico City.

“The foundation of two-way trade is to learn the language of the country you are working with,” said mission delegate Mark Pederson, national sales manager for Topics. “Our goal is to provide software to enable children in Mexico to learn English and children in the U.S. to learn Spanish. This mission provided a solid foundation for what could be a very long-lasting relationship.”

The average annual exports from Washington to Mexico have almost doubled during Locke’s administration compared to the previous administration. The state exported $607 million in products to Mexico in 2003, an increase of 40 percent from the previous year.

Last week’s mission was the third trade mission to Mexico led by Locke or members of his administration. As a result of the governor’s August 1999 mission to Mexico – coupled with the efforts of U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and the Washington State Potato Commission – the historic first-ever shipments of fresh Washington potatoes were sent to Mexico in May 2003.

The shipments were made possible by a U.S.-Mexico bilateral agreement to open the Mexican market to Washington state fresh potatoes. Locke was instrumental in instigating the talks that led to the historic agreement during his 1999 mission.

In October 2000, Martha Choe, then-director of CTED, led a follow-up mission with 46 business representatives, educators and state officials. Approximately 120 one-on-one meetings took place, resulting in excellent business opportunities for companies participating in the mission.

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Related Links: www.governor.wa.gov; www.agr.wa.gov; www.cted.wa.gov

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