Six Michigan companies travel to Mexico to expand export opportunities, create jobs

Business leaders from six Michigan companies travel to Mexico to meet with prospective partners, distributors and customers to increase export opportunities

LANSING, Mich. – Business leaders from six Michigan companies will travel to Mexico next week to meet with prospective partners, distributors and customers to increase export opportunities. The trade mission, taking place November 10-15, will be led by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s International Trade Program.

“As a developing global player and our second-largest trade partner, Mexico is an important and viable market for a wide range of products and services,” said MEDC Chief Executive Officer Jeff Mason. “This trade mission will open doors for these companies by helping them identify and enter into new relationships, ultimately growing their businesses and bringing more and better jobs to Michigan residents.”

Delegates from the trade mission will attend customized business-to-business meetings with prospective customers and business partners in Monterrey before traveling to Guanajuato to exhibit in the Guanajuato Cluster Suppliers Forum. The forum, which is held in the most dynamic automotive region in Mexico, will provide opportunities to meet with purchasing directors for OEMs, direct and indirect suppliers, as well as service providers involved in the automotive sector. Participants will also attend conferences and networking events with top executives and receive logistical support from MEDC’s Mexico Trade Office.

The participating companies from Michigan are:

Coherix (Ann Arbor) – Manufacturer of high-speed, high-definition 3D machine vision solutions that allow customers to manage high-volume automated assembly and manufacturing processes.

ITB Packaging (Holland) – Manufacturer of patented packaging solutions largely used in the automotive industry to reduce transportation and warehousing costs, improve density per pack and part protection.

Poly Flex Products, Inc. (Farmington Hills) – Manufacturer of plastic injection molding, rubber products, transfer molding and more.

Portland Products, Inc. (Portland) – Supplier of value-added metal products to automotive and other industries.

Supply Chain Shipping (Grand Rapids) – Logistics provider for companies interested in exporting their products, services and technologies to markets around the world.

Wood Automation and Control (Warren) – Designer and builder of industrial and process control systems primarily in the automotive manufacturing industry.

This will be the 15^th trade mission totaling 163 company participations that MEDC’s International Trade team has led to Mexico. MEDC has a number of missions scheduled for 2020, including trips to India, Vietnam/Philippines, South Africa, Japan/South Korea, and France. For more information, visit here: https://www.michiganbusiness.org/services/international-trade/.

In 2018, Michigan export sales totaled more than $12.2 billion to Mexico, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Companies participating in MEDC’s International Trade program reported export sales of $157.5 million to Mexico in fiscal year 2019. Export sales totaled $682.4 million in fiscal year 2019, surpassing FY18’s sales results of $641.5 million. This puts the International Trade program-to-date total facilitated export sales at more than $3.1 billion. In FY19, the program allocated more than $2 million in STEP incentives to 303 Michigan companies. Top reported countries for export sales include Mexico, Canada, China, the UK and Germany.

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn, and Twitter.