Export Rally Success at St. Mary's

One hundred and fifty new and experienced exporters got a leg up on the competition this week at a trade rally held at St. Mary's University, Halifax.

Sponsored by Nova Scotia Economic Development and the Halifax Regional Development Agency, the two-day event was designed to promote the benefits of exporting and to share information that can ultimately lead to an increase in exports.

"This has been a very valuable experience," said Sandra Phinney, a freelance writer from Tusket in Yarmoouth County, who's looking for clients in international markets. "If you're thinking about having a product or service to sell down the road, come to one of these export rallies. You'll be starting to export a lot faster."

Speakers like Dorothy Riddle, an expert in services exports, and Dr. Ramesh Venkat, an authority on e-commerce, helped local companies identify export opportunities and presented a how-to approach for seizing them. A panel of local exporters also shared their success stories.

Paul Cugno, president and CEO of KB Electronics in Bedford, passed on some wisdom he's gained from exporting power conversion equipment internationally.

"We've learned that you have to focus. You can't be everything to everybody," he told the participants. "You have to be successful in your own market at home before you can be successful in an export market. By building a relationship with the Canadian military, my company was able to make a successful transition to the U.S. miliary and now we're going world-wide."

The rally included practical information on exporting, networking opportunities, personalized Internet market research, one-on-one consultations with trade experts, export database registration, details of upcoming trade events, resource materials and exhibits.

"Our rallies are aimed at advancing the tremendous progress Nova Scotia exporters are making on the trade front," said Economic Development Minister Gordon Balser. " The department's rallies and trade missions are helping more and more local companies make their way into foreign markets. And increasing our exports helps to diversify our economy and grow revenues for our social programs."

In 1999, Economic Development either led or participated in 42 trade events, including three export rallies in Truro, Church Point and St. Ann's. The trade events helped to generate $142 million in contracts for local firms.