Fundamentally Strong – Georgia Trend highlights GDEcD’s International Trade division in July edition
The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s (GDEcD) International Trade division plays a key role in Georgia’s long running success story, helping the state maintain its status as “No. 1 State to do Business” for seven years in a row.
In the July 2020 issue, Georgia Trend magazine spotlights Georgia’s record-setting year for trade in 2019, how the state is working to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 – including its fundamentally strong position as a leader in global trade – and how GDEcD’s International Trade division helps Georgia companies find new opportunities at home and abroad. Its new online tool called the Export Georgia, USA Directory, serves as an online platform for international buyers to search for Georgia suppliers and services
J&S Chemical, a recent GDEcD International Trade division success story, is featured.
Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Mary Waters, Deputy Commissioner for International Trade, was highlighted as an expert voice, and article highlights are below.
Fundamentally Strong
*Excerpts from the July 2020 issue of Georgia Trend
By Anna Bentley
By most measures, 2020 was shaping up to be a banner year for international trade in Georgia. The state was coming off another record-breaking year in trade and exports, celebrating an all-time high of $41.2 billion in exports and $143.3 billion in total trade in 2019. And even after the first phase of U.S.-China tariffs went into effect, demand for Georgia exports actually started to grow, boosting optimism that the tariffs might not impact the state as much as originally thought.
But then the world paused. As COVID-19 morphed from looming threat to stark reality, businesses across Georgia found many aspects of their operations tested, from supply chains to payment terms.
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“There is absolutely no question that global trade is going to take a hit this year because of COVID-19, and we’re not really sure yet how deep that cut is going to be,” says Mary Waters, deputy commissioner of international trade for the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). “But I do think those underlying fundamentals are going to allow Georgia to turn a corner once we’re able to come back from this. Those underlying diverse markets and just the business environment that Georgia has, those are going to still be in play when we come out on the other side of this.”
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Georgia’s businesses are adapting as well. In addition to looking for new international markets and component suppliers, many businesses have changed up how they market their products – and even the products they make – to adapt.
Atlanta’s Peachtree Tents & Events, an event rental company, pivoted from trade shows, conventions and food festivals to providing medical screening areas and pop-up clinics. Kia Motors* began making face shields (auto production has resumed) in its West Point facility. And Rome mattress company Heritage Sleep Concepts used its embroidery machines to outline face masks instead of mattress toppers.
“I think that what we’re seeing is that business is resilient,” Waters says. “Companies are going to find a way.”
In Canton, [Thomas] Smith [the company’s director of global sales and marketing] and his team [at J&S Chemical] faced a similar situation, wondering how to keep their staff of 25 busy with slowed international orders. “How do we pivot the business and keep these guys busy and then at the same time try to help the community in this whole fight against COVID-19?” he asked.
The answer: hand sanitizer. Because the company uses flammable, red-label chemicals in its core business manufacturing processes, it already had the infrastructure to offload, mix, handle and store highly flammable alcohol, the main ingredient in hand sanitizer.
“Our employees were already trained on how to handle flammable materials. All the equipment, infrastructure and everything was there,” he says. “It was kind of an easy pivot for us to bring this to fruition.”
From idea to first production batch took about two weeks, Smith says. The company joined a weekly roundtable call set up by Georgia Manufacturing Alliance to help Georgia businesses connect supplies with demand [after GDEcD connected the company with the alliance]. Through a connection made on one of these calls, the company has sold more than 700 gallons of sanitizing solution as of press time.
Better yet, it’s found a new market.
“This is going to turn into a new product line for J&S Chemical,” Smith says. “We’re even investigating other product lines to add that would complement the hand sanitizer.”
Collaboration and Networking
J&S Chemical’s success entering a new market with a new product underscores the importance of collaboration, especially in challenging times.
It was through a GDEcD representative’s recommendation that J&S Chemical even joined the call, Smith says, and found its first customer, the Bobby Dodd Institute, a nonprofit that offers workforce programs for individuals with disabilities.
“Without [those two pieces], who knows,” he says. “We could still be twiddling our thumbs here with products and not knowing what to do with it. We would have never probably made the connection to the Bobby Dodd Institute.”
GMA’s weekly calls were intended to help bring industry leaders and organizations together while providing a new meeting ground for the highly active group. The organization’s move toward closer collaboration has been echoed across the manufacturing industries.
“One of the things that we’re really seeing right now is even closer communication and collaboration with our partners,” says Waters, “making sure that we’re getting the resources out [and] our messaging consistent across all the partners about where these resources are located and how companies can tap into these resources.”
The GDEcD’s International Trade Division has also leveraged its digital resources to help state businesses expand into new markets, including a new online tool called the Export Georgia, USA Directory. The free tool launched in February and serves as an online platform for international buyers to search for Georgia suppliers and services.
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“…we continue to be part of a globalized economy. Georgia continues to be at the center of global trade in the U.S. and is very much in the middle of global trade trends. I really don’t see that changing over time.”
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The complete article appears in the July 2020 issue of Georgia Trend.
*Kia Motors is also a member of GDEcD’s Georgia Made™ family of companies. To learn more about the program, visit: www.georgia.org/georgia-made.