Eight Michigan companies participating in trade mission to increase export opportunities in India

Eight Michigan businesses to join MEDC in India, Jan. 31-Feb. 8, 2020 • Trip will increase companies’ export opportunities with important trade market

Business leaders from eight Michigan companies are traveling to India with MEDC January 31-Feburary 8 to increase their export opportunities in the market. The delegation will travel to Chennai, Pune, and New Delhi. The trade mission will connect small- and medium-sized Michigan companies to the increasing export opportunities in the region, ultimately growing their businesses and bringing more jobs for Michigan residents.

Automation Alley is coordinating the trade mission in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s International Trade Program in a combined effort to promote bilateral trade.

“Trade missions like this one open doors for companies by helping them identify and enter into new relationships in foreign markets,” said MEDC CEO Jeff Mason. “India is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies with a strong demand for Michigan-made products. These companies, representing a wide array of industries, will have new opportunities to reach potential customers in this viable and important trade market.”

The participating Michigan companies will take part in pre-arranged business matchmaking meetings with prospective partners, distributors, and buyers. Matchmaking meetings were arranged by the Michigan India Center located in New Delhi. Participants will receive an in-country briefing about doing business in the region by the U.S. State Department and U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Consulate General-Chennai. Also attending are two sponsors of the trade mission.

• AeroDesign Services (New Hudson) – Engineering firm and manufacturer of full aerospace, rail, and automotive parts with FAA Part 21 Authority designation. Offers a full line of CNC’s, injection molding, and additive manufacturing capabilities.
• Corrigan Air & Sea Cargo (Romulus) – Providers of freight forwarding and logistics services, export packaging and crating, and warehousing and distribution to foreign customers. Retains a Foreign Trade Zone designation.
• Curriculum Crafter (Belmont) – Providers of the only educational resource planning and management (ERPM) system that combines a robust repository of vetted and aligned educational resources, curriculum, maps, and plans.
• Dell Marking Systems (Pontiac) – Manufacturer specializing in ink marking identification solutions used in several industries.
• Fluxtrol (Auburn Hills) – Providers of soft magnetic composite (SMC) material that focuses magnetic field and shields magnetic fields where required in many different industries.
• Gibbs Machinery Company (Warren) – Providers of metalworking CNC machine tools, specializing in gear manufacturing machinery, CNC machining, turning and grinding centers, automotive/truck engine transmissions, and drive line component production machinery.
• Metal Craft Technologies (Novi) – Engineering service provider working with foreign suppliers to the North American automotive industry.
• Supply Chain Solutions (Grand Rapids) – Provider of logistics solutions such as warehousing, international transportation, trucking, customs clearances, and value-added activity that includes light assembly and final mile delivery.
• Miller Canfield (Lansing) –Sponsor of trade mission, provider of legal services to Indian companies.
• RSM US LLP (Detroit) – Sponsor of trade mission, provider of tax accounting advice to Indian companies.

This is MEDC’s fourth trade mission to India since 2014. PROLIM Global Corp. participated in the 2018 trade mission to India and met with more than 10 companies during the one-week trip. Later, PROLIM hired local resources and developed a strategy, marketing plan, and sales approach to reach out to more than 50 companies.

“We took part in a trade mission to India in 2018, and we opened our new sales and service office in New Delhi and expanded our Michigan operations within three months of that mission,” said PROLIM President and CEO Prabhu Patil. “MEDC and Automation Alley are stellar organizations that can competently help Michigan-based companies expand sales into new markets. I sincerely thank the MEDC and highly recommend them – the tools and resources they’ve given me are invaluable.”

Sales in an international market like India help PROLIM expand their customer base, maintaining steady growth and profitability which support jobs in Michigan. Click here to view PROLIM’s full story.

The India trade mission follows on the heels of a delegation that traveled this week to Dubai, UAE, where the MEDC International Trade team took five Michigan companies to Arab Health. The world’s second largest healthcare congress and exhibition and the largest in the Middle East, Arab Health provided the participating companies with the unique opportunity to showcase Michigan technologies and know-how. This is the eighth year MEDC has led a group of businesses to Arab Health.                                                                 

MEDC’s International Trade Program is committed to increasing Michigan’s exporting opportunities by helping businesses identify and enter key emerging foreign markets. Export sales facilitated by the MEDC International Trade program totaled more than $682 million in fiscal year 2019, surpassing the goal of $580 million. This puts the International Trade program-to-date total facilitated export sales at $3.35 billion. Top reported countries for export sales include Mexico, Canada, China, and the United Kingdom.

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.