WTC Utah awards grants to 23 companies to help develop export business

World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah) recently awarded funding to 23 Utah companies as part of the Utah Export Acceleration Grant (EAG) program. Created to help small and medium-sized businesses realize their international business goals, the EAG is administered by WTC Utah and funded in part by a contribution from JPMorgan Chase & Co. 

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“Part of our mission at WTC Utah is to promote prosperity across the state by increasing exports,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of WTC Utah. “Through the EAG, we are able to help companies add customers, increase revenue and create jobs by selling internationally.”

Recipients of the grant obtain access to knowledge, tools and connections that are otherwise out of their reach, WTC Utah said in a release. Companies also receive reimbursements for education, services and travel activities geared toward advancing their international business plan. Examples include translation and research fees and travel costs associated with trade missions and trade shows. With this grant, businesses gain the opportunity to begin or increase their exporting activities and enter into new markets, WTC said.

Antenna design company Optisys used EAG funds to attend a recent trade mission to Mexico led by Gov. Gary Herbert. Janos Opra, chief business officer of Optisys, felt his experience on the trade mission helped him better understand the unique aspects of doing business in Mexico. The WTC Utah release quoted Opra as saying, “There are different rules and regulations on how to import and export products compared to Europe. There are also different types of manufacturing locations throughout the country for different products.” Having attended this trade mission, Opra is ready to expand his business to Latin America.

Also attending the trade mission with the financial assistance of the EAG were two representatives from the Intermountain Farmers Association: Dan Lovingier, general manager of south region feed, and Robert Bowles, marketing coordinator for commercial feed at IFA. While in Mexico, Lovingier said he “met with many government officials dealing with agriculture who will be valuable in helping us get our product tags approved in Mexico.” Other arranged networking opportunities included potential end users and possible distributors for their products.

Recipients of the 2018 Utah Export Acceleration Grant are Optisys; Intermountain Farmers Association; Niivatech; Cath-Tip Inc.; Right Manufacturing Systems Inc.; Applied Composite Technology-Aerospace Inc.; Quantum IR Technologies LLC; Liger Medical LLC; Coalatree, Wagmar Enterprises LLC, doing business as Sno-Go; Mercury Bikes, LLC; and Madsen Cycles.

Also receiving grants were Maxtec, Beartooth Bites LLC, Progenitor Life Sciences, TheraTarget Inc., Q Therapeutics Inc., T3S Technologies Inc., Casino Game Maker Inc., Taste Artisan Chocolate, Epitel, ByAnnie.com LLC and Kaddas Enterprises.

The application period for the next round of EAG grants opened on July 1. The pitch competition will take place on Nov. 8 as a breakout session during WTC Utah’s Annual Global Forum. Applications for the pitch competition will open on Oct. 1.{/mprestriction}