IFAI Trade Missions Build International Business Connections

IFAI Member Delegation In China

"I belong to a number of trade associations, and in my opinion this trip was by far the most valuable 'member benefit' that I have experienced from any," said IFAI Board Member Chris Nolan of the IFAI Fact-finding Mission to China that took place November 5-15, 2007.

Led by IFAI President Steve Warner and China representative Li-Ying Yu, the 14-person delegation traveled to four locations - Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. InTents 2007 Buyer's GuideThe trip included seven factory tours and six high-level meetings with the top leadership of Chinese textile organizations, plus visits to some of the most famous historical sites in the world such as the Ming Dynasty Tombs and the Great Wall. IFAI member companies represented in the delegation were:

• - DemTech Services, Inc., Placerville, CA, USA
• - Nolan O'Rourke & Co. Pty., Ltd., Sydney, NSW, Australia
• - PPG Industries, Hudson, OH, USA
• - Warner Shelter Systems Ltd., Calgary, AB, Canada
• - Fabric Images, Inc., Elgin, IL, USA

In addition, the delegation included an international trade specialist for the U.S. Department of Commerce.
On November 8, the IFAI delegation met in Beijing with the leaders of CNTAC (China National Textiles and Apparel Council), CCPIT-TEX (China Council for the Promotion of International Trade) and CNITA (China Nonwovens and Industrial Textiles Association).
Near Shanghai, one of the factory tours was to Great Eagle (Shanghai) Recreational & Travel Articles Co., Ltd., a company owned by IFAI member DOWCO Inc., Manitowoc, WI, USA. Great Eagle manufactures private label textile products for companies involved in the motorcycle, recreational vehicle and marine industries.

Steve Warner met with representatives of twelve IFAI member companies during the delegation's visit to the Haining Industrial Park in Suzhou. Altogether, there are 44 IFAI members located in China, making it the 4th largest represented country in the association after the U.S., Canada and Japan.
"The delegation got the opportunity to see first-hand many different types of factories. Our hosts at these locations were very gracious in providing complete access to their operations," said President Warner.
Plans are now being made for a second delegation mission to China in November 2008. If you are interested in participating, please contact Cherie Schmit, executive assistant to the president at cmschmit@ifai.com, or +1 651 225 6985.

USIFI Trade Mission to the Arabian Peninsula

Five-Country Trip Uncovers Strong Need For Technical Textile Products

Company executives from Cooley Inc., Pawtucket, R.I.; Milliken & Co., Spartanburg, S.C.; Outdoor Venture Corp., Stearns, Ky.; and Safety Components, Greenville, S.C., participated in a unique trade mission to Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates Oct. 18-Nov.1.
The objective was to forge new business relationships between US technical textile business and potential customers in the Arabian Peninsula eager to purchase U.S. products. The mission was led by Joey K. Underwood, Senior Vice President of Safety Components and current Chairman of the Board of United States Industrial Fabrics Institute.
The Trade Mission was greeted with great enthusiasm--"We were just waiting for you to come," said one potential customer in Kuwait. Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates were chosen for the mission because of the region's rapid growth, economic strength, and thirst for specialty fabrics products.

Local businesses are interested in working with U.S. companies and want U.S.-made products. Officials said that although the region receives numerous trade missions from around the world, this was only the second 2007 U.S. mission to Kuwait, and none of the countries had ever receive a specialty fabrics trade mission before. (Pictured above right: The Agility Logistics plant tour reception for the USIFI trade mission group.)
In each country U.S. Department of Commerce Commercial Officers and Country Specialists introduced the participating Trade Mission delegates to specific companies that had expressed interest in doing business with the U.S. companies. These meetings ranged from quick introductions with key members of local businesses to extensive discussions. In preparation, detailed data sheets were compiled on each participating company.
USIFI arranged conference calls between the companies and in-country Commercial Offices. The Commercial Officers and their staff worked hard for the success of the Mission. In fact, the USIFI members recommend that U.S. companies looking to export products make use of these country specialists even when not on official trade missions. The in-country DOC staff members have their fingers on the pulse of their region and know how to promote business opportunities.
Additional meetings were arranged through local Chambers of Commerce and American business councils. These large-forum meetings allowed each USIFI company to present their products, explain the purpose of USIFI and the Trade Mission, and answer questions from a number of interested people. Underwood said the impromptu meetings following these introductions were some of the most noteworthy.
The group was able to explore and learn about the culture of each region, profiting from driving tours of the cities with embassy staff members. They were impressed with the beauty of Oman (pictured above right) while taking a tour of the desert dunes of Ramlat al Wahibah and the oasis Wadi Bani Khaled. These social activities were an invaluable component of the Trade Mission, establishing talking points with potential business clients and demonstrating that U.S. business people take the time to learn about the local cultures.

The USIFI participants gathered many sales leads and far greater business insight into the markets of these countries; the political and cultural foundations and their structural impact on the business climate; and discovered that there is great interest, acceptance and appreciation of U.S.-made products in all these markets. (Pictured at right: Luncheon meeting at Al Dhafra Air Base outside Abu Dhabi.)

Each participant said the same thing when they returned home: "This was an opportunity of a lifetime." USIFI plans to offer more trade missions in the future. For in-depth coverage of the trade mission, visit www.usifi.com. The United States Industrial Fabrics Institute addresses needs in the U.S. technical textiles industry and is a division of IFAI.

North Carolina Congressman Receives Award From GMA

U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C, was presented with the first Friend of GMA Award by John Henderson, Geosynthetic Materials Association Executive Board Chairman, during the GMA Capitol Hill Education Forum in October.

Henderson explained that Shuler won the award "for saving taxpayer dollars, protecting the environment and investing in our nation's infrastructure with the use of geosynthetic material."

Shuler said that without using geosynthetics in roads, the long-term usability of the road is diminished. "It's the liability that I don't want," he said. "Ten, 15 or 20 years-or even sometimes two years down the road--you've got a hole in the road and you're having to replace pavement. We've got to improve that on the federal level, and the way to do that is to have your products (geosynthetics) as a part of this reauthorization highway bill. I want to see if I can help champion those pieces of legislation because I know firsthand exactly how [geosynthetics] work."

Shuler serves on the Committee on Small Business; chairman of the Subcommittee on Rural and Urban Entrepreneurship; the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit; the Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment; the Committee on Natural Resources; and the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.

Congresswomen Betty McCullum Visits IFAI

Betty McCollum, Congressional Representative for Minnesota's 4th District (which includes IFAI in Roseville) paid a visit to IFAI Dec. 10th to learn more about the industrial fabrics industry and our association. She presented staff members with an overview of her work in Washington DC and activities she is involved in surrounding sustainable design and green building.

From left to right:
USIFI Executive Director and S & PPD Managing
Director Ruth Stephens; IFAI President Steve Warner;
Rep. McCollum; and GMA Managing Director Andrew Aho.

IFAI Expo 2007 Wrap-Up In December Issue of Review Magazine - Also Features New Book Look!

Be sure to review Review in December for the scoop on the exciting activities and supplier exhibits that filled the Las Vegas Convention Center at IFAI Expo 2007.

The cover features our new IFAI Chairman of the Board, Scott Campbell, CEO of Rainier Industries, Ltd., holding up the world. Keep up the good work, Scott!

WHAT'S NEW AT REVIEW?

An exciting new design and name:
Specialty Fabrics Review. The new launch is scheduled for the March issue. Stay tuned for more details.

Be the first in line to advertise in the March inaugural issue of the new Specialty Fabrics Review.

The ad close deadline isJanuary 29, so please contact Sarah Hyland today.
Phone: +1 651 225 6950 or 800 319 3349 (US & Canada)
E-mail: schyland@ifai.com

IFAI Publications Receive Gold Honors Again!

Following on the exciting news that IFAI Publications received nine awards for publishing excellence from the MMPA in November, IFAI learned this month that it had won two Gold Awards in the 2007 Association TRENDS All-Media Contest.

Association TRENDS is a weekly news publication for association professionals and industry suppliers, and this year's competition exceeded 400 entries as IFAI took home top awards again.

This time Review magazine earned the Gold Award in the Trade Association category.

Geosynthetics magazine won the Gold Award in the Scholarly/Technical/Scientific Journal category.
Visitors to Washington, DC on Feb. 15th can see all the winning entries displayed at the TRENDS Salute to AssociationExcellence Luncheon at the Capital Hilton.