Small- and medium-sized companies with membership in the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) can now benefit from a pilot program with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) to increase their exports.
Dennis Slater, president of the association, and Fred P. Hochberg, the chairman and president of Ex-Im Bank, launched the program to help AEM’s small- and medium-sized (SME) member companies boost exports. AEM 2010 Chairman Chuck Martz, President & CEO of Link-Belt Construction Equipment, participated in the launch.
“In his State of the Union message, President Obama set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over the next five years, and increasing support for small business,” Hochberg said. “Ex-Im Bank will continue to expand its efforts to help small business exporters, including manufacturers, contribute to and share in that success by selling to the 95% of the world’s buyers who are located outside of the U.S.”
Under the guidelines of the program, an Ex-Im Bank representative will tailor assistance to eligible AEM-member companies interested in exporting products to new or existing markets.
The program will focus on Working Capital Guarantee and Export Credit Insurance, but companies may also receive other Ex-Im Bank assistance. To qualify, companies must meet the U.S. Small Business Administration definition of a small-medium business, produce goods in the U.S., demonstrate 51 percent U.S. content for those goods, and have an export deal in the works.