International Trade Workshop Scheduled
The IDA is sponsoring a March workshop with representatives of the Virginia International Trade Division, who will offer an interactive overview of primary and secondary reasons for involving your company in exporting; the workshops will also cover pre-requisites for successful exporting, as well as business considerations before doing business “abroad”. Free or low-cost export support services available to area businesses from State and/or Federal sources will be highlighted. The session is scheduled to be held in the Conference Rooms at Riverstone Technology Park-Building One in South Bostoon Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 9 AM.
In preparation for the workshop, the Halifax County IDA met with Ralph Torning, International Trade Manager for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) on January 28 at the IDA office to discuss the benefits of international business for Halifax County and the Commonwealth. Ralph discussed benefits such as a comprehensive export assistance to Virginia businesses, one and two year export training programs (AIM and VALET) to help a company become export savvy, free export consultations, export compliance training sessions, and other export support services from the professionals of the International Trade Team at VEDP.
The Halifax County IDA is sponsoring the session in the hopes that the information provided will lead more area businesses to consider exporting as a realistic means to help counter lagging domestic sales. Companies that are already exporting will learn about services and programs that will allow them to find additional overseas markets for their products or services. As domestic markets continue to shrink for most businesses, finding a sales niche in foreign markets may just be the “ticket” to help counter the effects of the recession. For more information, please contact Nancy Smith at nsmith@halifaxvirginia.com or 434-572-1734.
The United States Chamber of Commerce today awarded the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce with 5-Star Accreditation for its sound policies, effective organizational procedures, and positive impact on the community.
Grand Springs expanded its bottled water facility in Alton to accommodate the packing requirements of a new customer, and added 20 employees as a result.
