Contact: Stuart Doyle
(407) 956-5689
sdoyle@eflorida.com
24 businesses awarded Target Sector Trade Grants
Enterprise Florida grants help small businesses participate in global tradeshows, trade missions
ORLANDO, FL (March 22, 2010) – A year ago, Enterprise Florida announced the availability of grants created to help small and medium-sized companies increase sales and promotional opportunities through participation in international trade missions and tradeshows. Now, 24 companies have received a Target Sector Trade Grant, which can total up to $4,000.
“These are market diversification grants that support companies’ efforts to expand their markets. The objective is to aid them in finding new markets and diversify their exports,” explained Manny Mencía, who oversees Enterprise Florida’s international trade division.
The grants are provided on a reimbursable basis, meaning a company receives funds following its participation in an event. Qualifying activities are those for which Enterprise Florida sponsors either delegations or select U.S.-certified trade exhibitions representing a target industry for the state’s economic growth and diversification. They include aviation & aerospace; clean energy; financial & professional services; homeland security & defense; information technology; life sciences; and targeted manufacturing, including the boating/marine sector.
“Essentially, we’re enabling smaller companies to take part in major international product exhibitions worldwide that they otherwise might not be able to afford,” said Mencía.
M. Catherine Burney, president of Scar Heal, a skin therapy business based in Madeira Beach, acknowledged that “without the financial assistance of Enterprise Florida we would not have been in a position to absorb the full financial costs of the [Hospitalar] show. Having received the grant, we were able to attend Hospitalar and move forward with expanding our international distribution network to Central and South America.”
Grant-eligible organizations are Florida manufacturers, research and development companies and technology services providers within one of the target industries. Enterprise Florida collaborates with an applicant’s local economic development organization in the selection process, which requires a company to:
• Be legally registered in Florida
• Have in-state-produced products or services that would exhibited
• Staffed at 500 or fewer employees
• Be “new to show” or “new to market,” or a new or infrequent exporter.
For more information about eligibility and the application process for Target Sector Trade, businesses can contact Fred Glickman at (305) 808-3588 or fglickman@eflorida.com.
Target Sector Trade Grant Recipients
| Company | Approved Grant | INDUSTRY | CITY |
| Air Technology, Inc. | $2,800.00 | Aviation | Naples |
| Airon Corporation | $4,000.00 | Life Sciences | Melbourne |
| Associated Aircraft Mfg. & Sales, Inc. | $3,150.00 | Aviation | Fort Lauderdale |
| Awareness Technology, Inc. | $1,553.53 | Life Sciences: Medical | Palm City |
| Bennett Marine | $2,250.00 | Marine Industry | Deerfield Beach |
| Biopsy Sciences | $3,550.00 | Life Sciences | Clearwater |
| Bobs Machine Shop | $2,495.00 | Marine Industry | Tampa |
| Capital Avionics, Inc. | $1,688.00 | Aviation | Tallahassee |
| Endoscopy Replacement Parts | $2,850.00 | Life Sciences: Medical | Newberry |
| Epic Aviation | $2,750.00 | Aviation | New Smyrna Beach |
| Hudson Technologies | $1,800.00 | Aviation/Homeland Security | Ormond Beach |
| Knight's Armament Company | $2,800.00 | Aviation | Titusville |
| Loos & Co, Inc. | $3,800.00 | Aviation | Naples |
| Mercury Medical | $4,000.00 | Life Sciences: Medical | Clearwater |
| MSGI Corporation | $2,850.00 | Information Technology (IT) | Tampa |
| Nautical Structures Industries | $2,250.00 | Marine Industry | Largo |
| Oscor, Inc. | $2,850.00 | Life Sciences | Palm Harbor |
| Pan American Tool Corp. | $4,000.00 | Aviation/Homeland Security | Fort Lauderdale |
| Professional Systems Associates, Inc. | $1,688.00 | IT | Panama City |
| Scar Heal, Inc. | $2,850.00 | Life Sciences | Madeira Beach |
| The DISTI Corporation | $3,300.00 | Aviation/IT/Homeland Security | Orlando |
| The IEA Group Inc. | $2,250.00 | Marine Industry | Fort Lauderdale |
| Ultroid Technologies | $3,550.00 | Life Sciences | St. Petersburg |
| Vallery Industries, Inc. Armstrong Nautical | $2,495.00 | Marine Industry | Stuart |
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Enterprise Florida, Inc. is a partnership between Florida's business and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for the state of Florida. Headquartered in Orlando, Enterprise Florida’s mission is to diversify Florida’s economy and create better-paying jobs for its citizens by supporting, attracting and helping to create businesses in innovative, high-growth industries. In pursuit of its mission, Enterprise Florida works closely with a statewide network of economic development partners and is funded both by the State of Florida and by private-sector businesses.
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