NEWS RELEASE

Moorhead, MN – On Thursday morning in Moorhead, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar will convene a summit on “A World of Opportunity: Promoting Export Success for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.”  The summit will focus on how federal agencies can best help small and mid-sized businesses enter foreign markets and expand their international sales.

Klobuchar serves as chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation and Export Promotion.

The summit will be held at 9 a.m. on Thursday. Nov. 12, at the Hjemkomst Center, Fargo-Moorhead Chamber of Commerce, 202 First Avenue North in Moorhead.

There is an untapped world market for U.S. businesses, especially for smaller businesses that have never considered exporting before.  More than 95 percent of the world’s customers are located outside the U.S.  According to a recent survey, 30 percent of U.S. businesses that don’t export indicate that they would consider exporting if they had more information about how to go about doing it.

Speakers at the export promotion summit include:

-         Heather Ranck, International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Commercial Service
-         Jim Stai, District Director for the U.S. Small Business Administration
-         Ed Dieter, Deputy Director of the Minnesota Trade Office
-         Dale Niemi and Todd Larson, co-owners of S-M Enterprises in Moorhead
-         Tom Wollin and Dean Gorder, CFO and General Manager of Mattracks Inc. in Karlstad.