New InDiv venture gives businesses global reach

A Springfield company with more than 40 years of exporting experience has launched a new division to help other businesses expand abroad.

International Division Inc., or InDiv, launched InDiv Export Management Co. on Jan. 18, enabling small- and medium-size businesses to tap into expertise that comes from 46 years as a poultry equipment exporter.

InDiv EMC is designed to connect buyers and suppliers, provide market research, communications, logistics, translation, documentation and consulting for businesses that want to begin or expand export of their products.

Marketing specialist Ivan Muñoz, who joined InDiv in August to lead the new division, said fear of the unknown is what keeps most companies from exporting.

“We want to help those companies who have fear or don’t have enough resources to go international, but have the desire or potential,” he said, citing fears of regulation, language barriers and a lack of knowledge as factors.  

After some free initial consultations to determine goals and where help is appropriate, InDiv EMC offers a three-tiered fee structure. There’s a fee-based option for businesses that have short-term projects or need questions answered. The company also can work on a commission basis, which allows the client business to retain control of customer service, or the company can buy the products and export them.

Land of opportunity
Brad Bodenhausen, executive vice president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, said exports are a key potential growth area for the local economy.

For one thing, he said, Census data shows that 95 percent of the world’s population lives outside the U.S. He also cited statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Association that show exports are only 2.3 percent of gross metropolitan product, which is lower than in peer cities such as Knoxville, Tenn., and Colorado Springs, Colo.

“There’s a huge market out there,” Muñoz said.

Although Muñoz said U.S. Department of Commerce data shows 97 percent of all U.S. exporters are small- to medium-size businesses, there is still room for growth.
Howard DeCelis, president of the Greater Ozarks International Trade Association, points to a recent National Public Radio report, which said President Barack Obama might push for extended export payment guarantees.

If that happens, “the opportunities for small businesses will greatly increase,” said DeCelis, director of blower operations at Tuthill.

Bodenhausen said much of the exporting that happens now from Springfield is reactive, or generated by a customer abroad who is looking for a unique product and finds it through an Ozarks company online, and in many cases, that company may not be set up to export.

InDiv EMC, he said, can make those reactive exporters more proactive, allowing them to better reach out to potential international customers.

Offset the economy
No businesses have signed on yet for InDiv EMC’s services, but InDiv President José Sala said exporting can do more for businesses than simply providing growth, more buying power for raw products or new revenue streams.

In some cases, exporting also can offset the negative effects of a weakened economy.

It was exporting, as well as the fact that the company deals in food-related products that helped InDiv curb its 2009 sales decline to 10 percent, instead of the projected 30 percent drop, Sala said.

“Ninety-nine percent of our sales were export oriented,” he said. “Some of those markets didn’t fall as hard and fast as the U.S. market did, because their economies are not all credit-based.”

This year, Sala expects InDiv sales to reach between $18 million and $20 million, a 35 percent increase compared to 2009, largely due to exports and a new contract in Russia.

“We thought maybe we could help these companies begin exporting,” he said. “Also, maybe we could help medium companies that do some export, but maybe they had to cut back (and) don’t have the budget to have an international department.”

InDiv EMC shares overhead and resources with its parent company, which employs 11 in Springfield and 39 overseas, with operations in Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Central America, Malaysia and Russia.

With more than 100 years of combined staff experience, as well as a broad geographic network, Muñoz and Sala say InDiv EMC is ready to provide key exporting resources.

“We have people with, as they say, boots on the ground in other countries,” Sala said. “We know how to export.  It doesn’t matter what the product is.”