[Senate Hearing 118-386]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 118-386
SMALL BUSINESS EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES:
ACCESSING RESOURCES TO EXPAND
INTERNATIONAL SALES
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FIELD HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
OF THE
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
MAY 29, 2024
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
56-549 WASHINGTON : 2024
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COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
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JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire, Chair
JONI ERNST, Iowa, Ranking Member
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington MARCO RUBIO, Florida
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts RAND PAUL, Kentucky
CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware TODD YOUNG, Indiana
MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii JOHN KENNEDY, Louisiana
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada TED BUDD, North Carolina
JOHN W. HICKENLOOPER, Colorado
Sean Moore, Democratic Staff Director
Meredith West, Republican Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Jeanne Shaheen, U.S. Senator from New Hampshire.................. 1
WITNESSES
Mr. Justin Oslowski, Director of Commercial Service--New
Hampshire, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department
of Commerce.................................................... 4
Prepared Statement........................................... 7
Ms. Lisa Rogers, Vice President and Director of Operations,
Vibrac Precision Test Systems.................................. 9
Prepared Statement........................................... 11
Mr. Drew Matter, President and CEO, Mikros Technologies.......... 13
Prepared Statement........................................... 16
Mr. Adam Boltik, Program Manager, Office of International
Commerce, New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic
Affairs........................................................ 22
Prepared Statement........................................... 25
APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED
Questions for the Record for Mr. Oslowski from Chair Shaheen..... 40
Questions for the Record for Ms. Rogers from Chair Shaheen....... 43
SMALL BUSINESS EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES:
ACCESSING RESOURCES TO EXPAND
INTERNATIONAL SALES
----------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2024
United States Senate,
Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., at
University of New Hampshire Innovation, 21 Madbury Rd. #100,
Durham, NH 03824, Hon. Jeanne Shaheen, Chair of the committee,
presiding.
Present: Senator Shaheen [presiding].
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SHAHEEN
Chair Shaheen. Please be seated everyone. Good morning.
Before I officially open this hearing, I am going to explain a
little bit about how it is going to work this morning and
introduce some folks.
This is an official hearing of the Small Business and
Entrepreneurship committee in Washington. I am fortunate enough
to be able to chair that committee right now. Joni Ernst, who
is from--Senator from Iowa is the Ranking Member on the
committee.
And we are here doing a hearing on small business
exporting. I want to introduce some of the folks from the
committee who are here with us this morning, because we brought
up the staff from both the majority and the minority, which we
always have to do on an official field hearing.
So, from the majority, we have Jacob Press. If I could just
ask you to stand up. Hi, Jacob. Sebastian Roa over there. From
the minority, we have Sam Scoca--Sam. And Corey Cooke, who is
also a UNH alum. It is really nice. She just started with the
committee, so we are delighted to have her here. And Justin
Witt.
And then the clerk for the committee is Kathryn Eden, who
is in the back. Thank you, Kathryn. For my staff, let me also
introduce my staff who are here. We have James Ahn who is my
legislative director--stand up. And Will Garrity Binger, who
works on small business and issues in D.C.
And Tina Kasim, who many of you know, who works on small
business issues here in New Hampshire. So, again, thank you all
very much for joining us. This hearing on small business and
entrepreneurship will come to order officially. And I have--
normally we give opening statements, which I will do, and we
will enter those for the record as well. And then I will
introduce our witnesses. It is really an honor to be here at
UNH.
For those of you who don't know, I live about five minutes
down the road, so it is especially nice for me to be here.
Really appreciate the Innovation Center for hosting us this
morning, and very much appreciate the witnesses for joining us.
Today, we are going to discuss small business exporting,
and in particular, how we work together to expand small
business opportunities abroad. More than 95 percent of the
world's consumers live outside of the United States, but less
than 4 percent of small and medium sized businesses actually
export.
And that number has gone up a little bit. I can remember
when I first got to the Senate in 2009, only about 1 percent of
small businesses were exporting. So, we have made some gains
but not a lot. And we have a significant opportunity for growth
and that is what this hearing is about, to give us a chance to
explore how we can help America's small businesses reach
consumers.
In 2021, approximately 2,500 firms exported goods and
services worth over $6 billion from New Hampshire. Of those
exporters, over 85 percent were small and medium sized
businesses.
Now, the numbers are good, but as I said, I think we can do
better. The 85 percent represents about 2,000 small businesses,
so there are many more small business owners who have never--
exported and many of them could benefit greatly.
There is untapped potential for growth, which makes it
critical that we address access and resources to assist small
businesses in finding new markets for their products. Companies
like Madco 3D in Rochester, not too far down the road, I got a
chance to see firsthand the product that they are producing.
They are 3D printing houses, and they can also help address
building coral reefs. I think there is a tremendous opportunity
for companies like Madco 3D, and we are going to hear from
companies this morning who can talk about what they have seen
as the result of exporting.
I became a real fan of international trade when I was
Governor and led the first trade mission overseas back in 1997.
So, a long time ago. But what I saw was just the benefits that
New Hampshire businesses could gain as the result of trade.
That is why when I got to the Senate, I helped to create
the STEP Program in 2010 to help small businesses offset the
cost of training, market research, website upgrades, and trade
missions to begin or expand sales internationally.
Last week, the Small Business Committee advanced
legislation to update STEP to make it easier for States to
administer so that more small businesses can access and compete
internationally.
And the changes that we made to the legislation were by and
large the result of what we have heard from all of you who work
on exporting about what we need to do to make it easier to
access those funds and to make them more usable.
Here in New Hampshire, I know our STEP grantee, the Office
of International Commerce, works closely with the Commercial
Service to ensure that small businesses are supported
throughout the process.
I am glad both of those offices are represented here today
to discuss the tools that they currently have available. We
have two experienced exporters who are also joining us today
who can talk about the gaps that we can address better to
support small businesses. Last year, New Hampshire exports
reached a record of $7.6 billion.
That is up 85 percent since 2016. And it demonstrates the
focus that we have had on expanding international growth in New
Hampshire. I still think there is more we can do, and that is
what this hearing is all about.
I also want to point out that immediately following this
hearing, we have a resource fair to showcase STEP and other
organizations that can help small businesses with contracting,
manufacturing, and patents.
I hope that folks who are here will take advantage of that.
And I am not going to introduce everybody who is here as part
of the resource fair at this point. I will do that at the end
of the hearing. But just want to say it is a who's who of folks
who can be helpful to small businesses in New Hampshire.
Now, with that, let me introduce our witnesses. Justin
Oslowski is the Director of the U.S. Commercial Service Office
in Portsmouth, where he has been for the last 16 years, and we
are fortunate that he has been there for that long. He is
setting--his hair was a lot less gray when he started.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Oslowski. A lot less gray.
Chair Shaheen. He leads the office's work assisting
businesses with locating international opportunities,
conducting market research, and coordinating with U.S. staff
overseas to support export opportunities.
He brings particular expertise in the safety and security,
defense, aerospace, and environmental technologies industries.
He has also worked at U.S. embassies in Greece and the
Philippines supporting U.S. commercial efforts.
Next to Justin is Ms. Lisa Rogers. She is Vice President
and Director of Operations for Vibrac Precision Test Systems in
Manchester. Vibrac provides torque testing equipment to NASA,
the U.S. Navy, and several leading companies in defense and
consumer products. And if you don't know what torque testing
is, which I did not until I visited there, it is very
important, particularly in the defense and space industries.
Ms. Rogers has more than 15 years of experience in
exporting at Vibrac, ranging from directly handling overseas
shipping to navigating due diligence to prevent selling
sensitive goods to bad actors.
So, you make sure that everybody complies with our export
control regimen, which is not easy. I am grateful you are able
to share your experiences with so many aspects of exporting,
and to a wide array of markets.
Next, we have Mr. Drew--no, Mr. Drew Matter. He is
President and CEO of Mikros Technologies, which designs and
manufactures advanced liquid cooling systems for semiconductors
and other high power uses in Claremont, New Hampshire.
I got to visit Mikros when you first did your
groundbreaking back in 2000 as Governor, and I am pleased to
say I got to go back again a couple of years ago and see the
amazing changes that have happened there and the growth. Drew
began his career at NASA's Johnson Space Center, and he brings
significant manufacturing and engineering expertise.
Since joining Mikros in 2017, he has helped the company
expand its exports significantly, especially as the
semiconductor market has grown. And finally, we have Adam
Boltik, who is the International Trade Resource Manager at the
New Hampshire Office of International Commerce in Concord.
He oversees efforts to assist New Hampshire businesses
looking to start or expand in markets overseas and supports
programs expanding access to export related training and
services.
He also represents New Hampshire in promoting the State as
a premier investment destination for foreign companies, and
previously worked for the International Trade Administration,
helping U.S. exporters with foreign government procurement
opportunities.
So again, thank you all for being here. We will begin with
Justin and go right down the panel.
STATEMENT OF JUSTIN OSLOWSKI, DIRECTOR, U.S. COMMERCIAL SERVICE
PORTSMOUTH, PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Mr. Oslowski. Great. Thank you. Senator. Before I launch
into my prepared comments, I just wanted to recognize your
decades-long commitment to international business development
and so appreciated.
Your staff is incredible and so hard working. I have worked
in three different States, and we have always felt so supported
here in New Hampshire. So, I just wanted to recognize your
leadership and the team's leadership on such a vital issue. So,
thank you. I am also honored to be here with Lisa, and Drew,
and Adam.
Can't ask for better clients or friends, so thank you.
Chair Shaheen. Thank you very much.
Mr. Oslowski. Chair Shaheen, thank you for inviting me here
today to testify on U.S. Government efforts to help small
businesses expand in international markets. I am pleased to
have the opportunity to discuss how the U.S. Department of
Commerce's International Trade Administration, ITA, and its
U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service are supporting efforts to
increase U.S. exports and assist in small business growth,
which in turn leads to good paying jobs here in the United
States.
Our country's exports are crucial for a strong economy. The
data shows us that businesses that export overall create more
jobs, they pay better wages to their workers, and generally
earn higher revenues.
Programing by Federal agencies like those here today to
assist small businesses in accessing export opportunities
provides a return on investment for the American economy. As
the Federal Government's primary export promotion arm, the
International Trade Administration fosters economic prosperity,
enhances job creation, and strengthens national security
through a global network of trade specialists across the
country and around the world--the U.S. foreign--and Foreign
Commercial Service.
Our national and international network of approximately
1,450 trade specialists is uniquely positioned to provide
extensive export focused business counseling and support to
small and medium sized enterprises, SMEs, throughout the United
States through a mix of free and fee based services.
We are located in over 100 U.S. based export assistance
centers, or USEACs, and in 127 offices located in U.S.
embassies and consulates in 80 countries. We conduct commercial
diplomacy and implement programs to help companies identify and
access new markets like those here today.
Last year, we assisted approximately 42,000 companies in
exporting for the first time, of which 85 percent were SMEs,
and near and dear to my heart, 22 percent were from rural or
underserved communities. Locally, I am proud to serve as
Director of the New Hampshire U.S. Export Assistance Center.
Our USEAC provides local exporters, these guys here,
especially SMEs, with global market intelligence, counseling--
although I have also received Lisa's counseling----
[Laughter.]
And other programs and services to help strengthen their
global competitiveness--off the topic. Our team works in close
coordination with State agencies as well, like the New
Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs, as well
as local organizations to ensure our services complement each
other and not compete.
We also work closely with our interagency colleagues from
the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the Export-Import Bank
of the United States, and the U.S. Small Business
Administration.
An example of this collaboration is how States leverage
SBA's State Trade Expansion Program, which again we thank you
for your leadership Senator, to assist SMEs, including, you
know, access services of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial
Service to compete globally.
To provide an example of how, the Federal Government helps
and how we are equipped to provide, Geophysical Survey Systems,
GSSI--you are familiar with them, Senator--in Nashua, New
Hampshire has successfully utilized funding from a STEP grant
and access to our services to export to new markets since 2016,
and they were clients well before then.
GSSI is a leading manufacturer of ground penetrating radar
used to non-invasively survey sub-surfaces, and it is testament
to the technological innovation of American small businesses.
Oftentimes, SMEs like GSSI and others know they have
greater market potential with their products or services but
lack the resources to tap into it. The gold key services that
ITA provides companies with matchmaking appointments with up to
five interested potential partners in a foreign market.
So, you ask yourself, what does that look like in action?
Well, GSSI wanted to expand its business in South Korea. Our
local office worked with our Foreign Commercial Service
colleagues based in Seoul to provide a list of possible
partners to help GSSI grow its business.
Years later, that partner purchased $1.1 million worth of
products during the COVID-19 pandemic at a time when many small
businesses were shuttering their operations.
GSSI continues to serve an exemplary client for our office,
a place where innovative technology, coupled with a commitment
to exporting and the utilization of Government services, build
a revenue stream which now accounts for nearly 50 percent of
their overall sales and has contributed to both job creation
and job retention. So, compete with that Lisa. You are coming
next. [Laughter.]
So, finally, I would like to note that our economy cannot
reach its full potential unless the benefits of trade and
commerce are widely felt by individuals and businesses from
underserved communities, including our rural communities.
At ITA our focus on equity has enabled us to assist
business owners from these communities, ensuring the benefits
of export sales reach companies and workers in those
communities.
ITA recognizes the unique challenges that rural companies
face in beginning to export and expanding their presence
globally. Our National Rural Export Center, the REC, delivers
tailored training and market research services to rural
businesses across the country.
And one of these services, and I am going to get cute here,
Rural America's Intelligence Service for Exporters, or our
RAISE program, which helps companies target the best markets
and helps them reduce potential risks in export decision
making.
New Hampshire has one of the highest participation rates in
RAISE services in the country. Thanks to the chair--thanks to
Chair Shaheen and your colleagues on Commerce's Appropriations
subcommittee, ITA recently opened eight new regional RECs to
reach even more rural businesses so that they may benefit from
the work on the Rural Export Center, as well as the full suite
of services provided by ITA.
Chair Shaheen, ITA and the U.S. and Foreign Commercial
Service have more than 40 years of proven success in trade
promotion and commercial diplomacy. Each day, our priority is
to connect American businesses with foreign markets, which you
referenced, where over 95 percent of the world's consumers
live.
We are here to work hand in hand with you to help our
businesses and our State grow, thrive, and compete in the
global marketplace. Thank you for the opportunity to appear
before you today, and I look forward to answering your
questions after my colleagues.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Oslowski follows.]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chair Shaheen. Great. Thanks very much, Justin. Now, I said
I was going to do this just like we do in Washington, but if
everybody's comfortable, I am just going to use your first
names.
Mr. Oslowski. Oh, for sure.
Chair Shaheen. Since it is New Hampshire, right.
Mr. Oslowski. I don't even know how to pronounce my own
last name, so. [Laughter.]
Chair Shaheen. Good. Thank you. Lisa.
STATEMENT OF LISA ROGERS, VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF
OPERATIONS, VIBRAC PRECISION TEST SYSTEMS, MANCHESTER, NEW
HAMPSHIRE
Ms. Rogers. Hi. Thank you. Good morning and thank you for
the opportunity to speak today on this very important topic. My
name is Lisa Rogers, and I am Vice President of Operations at
Vibrac, a precision test equipment company in Manchester
celebrating its 64th year this year.
We have seen a lot. Located in Manchester, our company
designs and manufactures custom precision torque testing
systems to an array of industries, notably aerospace, defense,
consumer product, and automotive industries, among others. We
count among our strong customers NASA, the U.S. Navy, Raytheon,
Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, BAE, PepsiCo, Becton, Dickinson,
and Procter & Gamble, among others.
I have almost 17 years now experience in exports while at
Vibrac. I am a newly elected member of the Granite State
District Export Council as well. Thank you, Justin. Looking at
a snapshot of sales for the past year and a half at our
company, our international sales have been over 45 percent.
While we have enjoyed exporting our products
internationally over the past 60 plus years, the available
markets in the form of distributors and the acquisition of
Vibrac Europe in the UK, and now an office in Barcelona--who
wants to go--has allowed us to further expand potential for new
sales, as well as ability to provide after sales service to our
customers.
Key drivers in our export growth recently can be attributed
to research of the markets and territories we wanted to target
globally, focusing on a microeconomic approach, working closely
with the U.S. commercial services on opportunities and avenues
for exploration, the SBA, STEP grants, the Trade Winds program
through the International Trade Association, or the ITA as
Justin mentioned, and even the country commerce guides found on
the ITA.
Attendance at international trade shows and missions such
as DSI Japan and DSI in London, the Paris Air Show, and Trade
Winds event and matchmaker in Bangkok, Thailand last year have
propelled us in front of new audiences and compatible
technologies. These accelerators have had significant impact on
our small company.
We are already at 71 percent growth from the same period
last year. It is important to note here that with growth
supported by exports, small businesses can increase not only
their profits but opportunities for investment.
Such growth will inevitably require adding new jobs to meet
that demand. Vibrac has added eight new jobs in the past year
and a half. Adding new orders to our production schedule
requires us to source and vet new suppliers.
As a result, when Vibrac grows, our suppliers can grow.
When our local economies grow, we stimulate further interest in
how we have achieved this and share that knowledge with other
small businesses seeking the same.
Knowledge of and utilization of some of the resources that
I mentioned earlier provides much needed support in the forms
of training, available trade missions, and possible financial
assistance, especially vital information on how to perform due
diligence on potential international customers, protecting
intellectual property, navigating foreign trade policy and
regulations, and how to make sure you get paid all aid small
businesses and their ability to support export successfully.
I am continually learning of new resources that I can share
internally and with our offices overseas, that we continue our
growth. I want to share those with everyone here. The world
needs our expertise. They need our exports. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Rogers follows.]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chair Shaheen. Thank you, Lisa. Can I just get a
clarification? When you said you had 71 percent growth from
last year, was that across the board or was that just in
exports?
Ms. Rogers. That was across the board. And we are
currently, as of yesterday, at 51 percent growth in exports.
Chair Shaheen. Wow.
Ms. Rogers. Yes.
Chair Shaheen. Thanks.
Ms. Rogers. So, it has been great.
Chair Shaheen. Drew, you are up next.
STATEMENT OF DREW MATTER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MIKROS
TECHNOLOGIES, CLAREMONT, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Mr. Matter. Thank you. Chair Shaheen, members of the Small
Business committee, staff, and distinguished guests, friends,
colleagues. I am honored to speak with you this morning on the
topic of small business export opportunities.
My name is Drew Matter, and I serve as President and CEO of
Mikros Technologies in Claremont. Mikros designs and
manufactures high powered liquid cooling systems that can
provide lower power consumption for big computers, servers,
data centers.
And the result of that can be helping companies, even
communities, and our nation meet broader sustainability goals
when these data centers are taking less energy to do their
work.
Many of Mikros' exporting successes have come with the help
and hard work of our friends at the U.S. Commercial Service,
and the New Hampshire BEA, also the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership, the MEP, but including assistance that we have had
from the STEP grant program over several years.
I am also pleased to be a part of the Granite State
District Export Council, and thankful for the ability to
participate in that. We were also, as you mentioned, Senator
Shaheen, we were also honored to have you visit our R&D
facility two years ago with NSF Director Sethuraman
Panchanathan.
And I want to thank you for your continued hard work for
small businesses like Mikros across our State and across our
country. So, our exporting moment. As a small business with a
leading thermal technology that was developed out of a project
to do cooling for the space station in the mid-80s, the
challenges to meet the rapidly increasing demands of the
semiconductor market are significant.
Mikros, in our daily work, will work for years with Silicon
Valley system design engineers to provide a world class
solution for a supercomputer. Only then, after the project is
designed, to meet the supply chain counterparts who because we
were a small business lay--may lay upon us exaggerated
production ramp demands to make sure that we can meet them,
unfavorable supplier agreements and financing terms, and
immediate pricing pressure.
And we also, every time we ship, we wonder about the risk
of our IP. Protecting the jobs of our bright and committed team
of Granite State engineers, precision machinists, and
technicians in the current AI gold rush moment is what keeps me
up at night.
Our exporting experience. In 2020, when global supply
chains were in COVID upheaval, Mikros was pleased to
participate in a virtual trade mission to India hosted by the
U.S. Commercial Service at the kind invitation of Justin and
Taylor Little. Our first international representative to Mikros
ever emerged from this event.
And because of the strong national initiatives in India to
advance national computing and a national incentive to
electrify vehicles across the country, our business
opportunities have grown significantly in the nation of India,
among others.
Then, in 2022, Mikros invested in a marketing report by the
RAISE team, as Justin mentioned, Rural America's Intelligence
Service for Exporters. It is cuter when Justin says it.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Oslowski. It is.
Mr. Matter. The RAISE report cross-referenced Mikros'
export codes with top importing countries and top importing
companies of those codes worldwide.
I would encourage our representatives and the U.S.
commercial service teams in Washington, D.C. to continue to
resource the growth of Rural Export Centers so that more
businesses can increase their return on exporting investments.
It was a game changer for us and an easy decision to make on
that resource.
Our current exporting need. The scale of the infrastructure
needed to deploy next generation computing systems worldwide in
the next three to five years is orders of magnitude above their
2024 levels.
Major chip manufacturers in Silicon Valley are using the
word tsunami to describe the market over the next three to five
years, and these are tens of millions of chips that are
expected to be doing the computing for society in the next
decades. The exporting resource needed of small technology
businesses like Mikros, and like Vibrac, and others are thus
going to grow proportionately.
And so, I see these needs fitting the following categories.
First, increasing and continued ease of access to export
resources and regulations. Small businesses feel a more acute
risk when shipping any international package, as our shipping
manager, Joyce Elliot, can tell you. She is here with me today.
I am very thankful for her. We feel that risk acutely. And
funding the development of consolidated and up to date U.S
export regulations and resources will be key, as small
businesses have less margin for lost revenue when unanticipated
costs or delays are incurred in shipping. Secondly,
intellectual property, protection resources.
Groundbreaking technologies are often developed by small
businesses, as Lisa also makes clear, which must then engage
international markets against competitors with much greater
economic and legal leverage.
Stronger Government backing for intellectual property can
help ensure that small businesses can clear critical
development hurdles as they grow. And so, my crazy question is,
could there be an FDIC for IP? Third, market development
resources.
My recommendation is to continue to fund groups like the
Rural Export Centers and others that resource small businesses
like ours to grow those groups and so that they can achieve
greater structural efficiencies to help companies like Mikros
more quickly and easily develop relationships with
international clients that lead to long term revenue, greater
stability, and greater jobs in the Granite State.
In conclusion, Mikros, and I believe all of us, sit on the
precipice of a burgeoning semiconductor market in which the
U.S. can continue to maintain a leadership advantage. We
actually just submitted a concept paper for the CHIPS Act grant
as well. And we are very thankful for your office's offer of
support there.
The rise of artificial intelligence is forcing the well-
known bend in the hockey stick of the computing market curve.
And if that is true, we can use the Wayne Gretzky analogy in a
hockey region of the country and skate to where the puck is
going, both domestically and internationally.
This will require continued export policies and resources
that empower small businesses, so that our local economies and
workforces can rise to meet the need of an ever more
technologically focused and advanced manufacturing future.
Thank you for the opportunity to share our exporting
experiences and recommendations with committee this morning.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Matter follows.]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chair Shaheen. Well, thank you very much. I know we will
get into some of the issues that you raise more after all the
testimony, but I just wanted to comment on the IP because I
want to make sure everybody knows that we have a new office
of--a new patent and trademark office that is opening in New
Hampshire in the near future.
And it is going to be for Northern New England. And so,
some of the issues that you raise about intellectual property,
I think, it will be a great opportunity to discuss with some of
those folks.
I don't know, do we have anybody from the patent? Thank
you. You want to introduce yourself?
Ms. Doherty. Yes, Senator. My name is Elizabeth Doherty. I
am the Eastern Regional Outreach Director for the U.S. Patent
Trademark Office.
Excited to be bringing our first ever community outreach
office here to the New Hampshire and New England community.
Excited to be standing that up to provide resources to
inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs, small business owners.
Chair Shaheen. We are very excited that they are here. And
that you are here today. Thank you. Adam, next.
STATEMENT OF ADAM BOLTIK, PROGRAM MANAGER, NEW HAMPSHIRE OFFICE
OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE, CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Mr. Boltik. Thank you, Chair Shaheen. Thank you to my
fellow panelists for basically saying what I was planning on
saying anyway, so it will be really easy to go through all of
this. Thanks, UNH for hosting for all of the resource partners
that are here, and especially to the small business
representatives, both here on the panel and in the audience.
There are many that I recognize that we have talked to,
that we have worked with, that have used our programs such as
STEP, and I am glad that they are here. Hopefully they are all
very, very happy. If not, we can talk later.
But thank you for this opportunity as well to speak on the
State of New Hampshire's efforts to assist small businesses in
accessing resources to expand to international markets. As you
mentioned, the importance of international trade to the States
economy cannot be overstated.
The Department of Business and Economic Affairs is
committed to ensuring that companies have the support and
assistance they need to compete in the global marketplace. You
mentioned that this past year, we set a record number of
exports valued at over $7.6 billion.
It has been incredible to sort of be in the office seeing
these numbers grow, and I think it really is a testament to the
great demand worldwide for products, equipment, and components
made in New Hampshire, by New Hampshire companies, particularly
small businesses such as those that are represented here.
And while global trade can be lucrative, as we have
discussed, the initial risks to getting into these markets I
don't think can be ignored. Companies can be bogged down by
burdensome regulations and rules, overwhelmed by the
availability of potentially incompatible sales channels or
opportunities, and faced with uncertainty for receiving
payments after a sale occurs. I think both Lisa and Drew
mentioned that that was a big concern for them.
And we know that for small businesses, these are not small
challenges. I think the best tool that we have is the State
Trade Expansion Program administered by the U.S. Small Business
Administration. I think you are very familiar with sort of how
that works and how we have benefited.
But it allows us to offer support to companies new to
exporting, as well as to veteran exporters who are expanding
their reach. Since the program was created in 2011, New
Hampshire has received more than $2.9 million in STEP funds
across, I think, 11 rounds now.
And it has been our companies that have used this funding
to turn that into more than $108 million in exports,
representing a return on investment of more than $37 per
Federal dollar that was invested.
Since its inception, STEP funding has helped New Hampshire
companies with hundreds of export building activities.
Companies have used that funding to redesign packaging to meet
changing regulations in foreign markets, obtain innovative
market research from the Department of Commerce's RAISE
program.
I am not going to say that because I know I will trip over
what it means. And then also finding new partners and sales
channels thanks to the U.S. Commercial Service. The STEP
funding has also enabled the Department of Business and
Economic Affairs to support educational programs and prepare
training materials.
In recent funding rounds, we have worked with partners
including SBA's New Hampshire District Office, the New
Hampshire Small Business Development Center, and the U.S.
Commercial Service to develop our export accelerator program,
which we are happy to say launched this month with an initial
class of eight companies.
We are ready to learn more and put together export plans
thanks to our assistance. We are in the process for applying
for another round of STEP funding, and I am very happy to note
that the Small Business Committee recently passed legislation
that would reauthorize the STEP program and make sure that it
continues to be there to help us, as well as to help the small
businesses that really need it.
I also appreciate the engagement from your staff, Senator
Shaheen, who made sure that I was--my views were incorporated
in sort of the development, making sure that the changes that
were being made were going to help States and small businesses.
I think at least at one point, I was on a call at 11:00 at
night when I was in Poland, but they still really, really
wanted to get some of those details down.
Another key BEA initiative that we were again proud to have
Federal support for includes a partnership with the U.S.
Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration
through their Market Development Cooperative program. We
received funding from them a couple of years ago to put
together what we call the New Hampshire E-Global Institute.
This is a free resource for companies, those interested in
exporting or otherwise, to learn about trends and opportunities
in e-commerce, to self-assess the readiness of their digital
strategies, and most importantly, link with other companies
that can help them in their efforts and grow.
The ability to export products from maple syrup to India to
aircraft parts to Germany helps our companies diversify their
bottom line. We know exporting helps these companies create
jobs, invest in infrastructure, withstand economic headwinds,
and be competitive at home and abroad.
The examples and stories from Lisa and Drew demonstrate
this with the number of jobs they have been able to create and
the ability to pivot when global crises have made doing
business hard. But the success of these companies and other New
Hampshire exporters is neither accidental nor happenstance.
It comes about because of a longtime partnerships with
agencies whose expertise and aligned commitment is a model for
other States. BEA is proud to be a partner with Federal, State,
and local agencies, and entities that share the same goals that
we do, which is providing the best economic opportunities we
can for everyone.
It would be hard for us to deliver what we do for New
Hampshire businesses without the support of programs such as
SBA STEP funding or the Department of Commerce's Market
Development Cooperative Problem--Program.
I knew I was going to trip over something. But it would be
impossible to do any of this without our partners. We have the
capacity to bring these partners together, and I think from our
recent record setting exports to the strong return on
investment, to our STEP grants, it is clear that these
partnerships work. Thank you, Senator.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Boltik follows.]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chair Shaheen. Thank you all very much for your testimony
and for the work that you have done, and for the feedback that
you give us. I like the story about at 11:00 at night in
Poland. I hadn't heard that story before.
And we know that the best ideas usually come from all of
you who are out in the field, who are seeing how things work.
And our job is to try and address those concerns, make changes
to make things work better.
So, we are delighted to have your thoughts today. And Adam,
you gave us a good segue into what I wanted to have as my first
question which is, how do you help companies get started in
exporting?
So, if--and I know Lisa and Drew, you have thoughts about
that as well. But a company calls you. They think they have a
good product or service. They want to export it. What do you
tell them to do? Justin, you want to start first.
Mr. Oslowski. Yes. I mean, we have an amazing team here in
New Hampshire. So, the commercial service, that is not our
client, honestly. I mean, we would help direct them, but Liz
Gray, I don't know if she is in the room.
But Liz Gray, Adam worked very, very closely with our
office, to include SBA and included our Granite State District
Export Council members. We started NH export accelerator
program.
And that is the sort of collaborative nature--legacy of
collaboration that Dawn Wivell started decades ago when you
were Governor.
Chair Shaheen. And Dawn is actually here too, so we are
delighted that she is still involved.
Mr. Oslowski. Yes. There is--I have said this before, it is
a culture of collaboration that exists within the State that is
actually the envy of other States.
So, for us, that new to export company, if they don't have
an export plan, that could be a referral on to the SBDC, the
SBA. That could be a referral on to Lisa. Hey Lisa, I know you
had trouble in this market, can you touch--and then we graduate
them.
They evolve. And then hopefully the idea is for them to
become a client who is ready for us, who can then go
international, because I think it is an educational process.
You just can't jump straight in it. I mean, you can. If you
have a website, guess what, you are already international.
But we would like it to be more planned. We like that
export plan in place. And certainly, having something like the
NH Export Accelerator program would be something that I would
definitely refer them to right away, including tremendous
assets online that trade.gov has.
Chair Shaheen. So, Adam, talk a little bit more about the
accelerator program.
Mr. Boltik. Sure. I think we are really excited to see this
all take off. And it became a project for us to work with,
again, our partners in SBDC, SBA, Commercial Service. You are
going to hear these groups a lot.
Chair Shaheen. The alphabet soup of agencies. [Laughter.]
Mr. Boltik. But you know, we wanted to help strengthen and
expand the pipeline of businesses that were going from sort of
doing business today into graduating to be able to use
Commercial Service project, programs and services.
You know, we were able to partner with SBDC thanks again to
support from the STEP grant, using sort of their model of
various academies and training programs where they bring
together groups of businesses to work together towards a common
goal.
So, when we suggested, hey, we would love to see something
that could give businesses an export plan, they just hopped on
this and really took the lead, and we could not have done this
without them.
Because, you know, being able to have that export plan,
being able to work with your peers to put something together
really is going to help make companies a little more confident
in the export journey, as well as understand what resources
there are available from the State, from the Federal
Government, from our partners.
And, you know, again, we are really excited that this has
started up. We want to see where this is going, but hope to be
continuing it a lot more, to get companies on that journey to
where they can finally start going, to trade shows and hanging
out with Justin.
Mr. Oslowski. Yes, that is what I do.
Chair Shaheen. And so, for anybody who didn't notice on
your way in, Liz Gray and the Small Business Development
Centers are represented here so they can talk more as part of
the resource fair for anybody who has questions.
Lisa or Drew, as you are thinking about, particularly maybe
you, Lisa, because I think you started at Vibrac before they
actually started exporting, right? Or you were involved in the
early stages of that.
Ms. Rogers. Yes. They had been exporting previously. Vibrac
is a very small company. We are 18, actually as of last week,
19 employees. When I said we brought on eight, that is a huge
jump--stretchmarks. So, and we will just leave it there. But,
you know, I jumped in. I am a former teacher. I am a former
educator.
So, I came in with a keen interest in learning everything.
And I didn't start as Vice President of Operations. I started
as the office manager. And my husband said, I need you at this
company. And so, I got my fingerprints all over everything. And
one of those things was helping with shipping and receiving.
I got to know the entire company by getting involved in all
aspects of it. And when our shipper had to go on a medical
leave, I had to roll up my sleeves and ship, and a lot of stuff
went overseas. So, the domestic stuff was easy, but when you
have to--it is now called ACE and you have to get an ITN number
for in order to ship, and you follow with your--goods. And what
is an HS code? I sweat profusely because I didn't know what
those things were.
So, it was birth by fire, and I just learned it from the
ground up. Luckily with my expertise and experience in that,
you don't have to sweat anymore. They have so many more
opportunities, resources available for something like that.
And I am very happy to be able to help other companies
sidestep some of that. One thing that I do, that we had
mentioned, Senator, was being a former teacher, I look at
everything, where is your outline? You know, what is your
export plan? What is your outline? Let me look at that.
And the little red pen comes out because I want to see what
are you thinking of looking--what are you looking at? Have you
covered--do you know your market? Who are your potential
customers? What does the market look like outside of our
borders? And you know, what resources are you willing to
dedicate to export?
The STEP program is an enormous impact, and it made a huge
difference for our company. We were--we had visibility and we
garnered quite a bit from work, and it was a lot of work when
we were in Tokyo for the DSI.
We used the STEP grant for that, and that was fantastic. We
began discussions with Pratt and Whitney. You get your feet in
the door at some of these events that you wouldn't otherwise be
able to even on LinkedIn premium.
But taking all of this information, do you know how to
collect from international customers? Do you know how to
protect yourself, your intellectual property? Vibrac, because
of the nature of what we do, we have hundreds of patents that
have been put out.
And some of our technology is used by the Department of
Defense in protecting not only our country but helping other
countries in their battles as well. You know, that being said,
there are a lot of outside entities that would like to get a
hold of things, so you have to be very careful who you ship to.
A very, very specific tool, that I use and have our sales
staff use right now is the known entities list through the
Bureau of Industry and Security, bis.gov. You just go right
into their page. You can do a search by the person's name, the
company's name, their address, any other information about
them, and immediately find out if they pop up.
We have had some pop up, which means no go for shipping.
And you know, that is a first step tool--forms that are used as
part of this. The E-Global Institute, which has recently been
launched, is in my opinion a powerful tool for people who want
to begin exporting. It can be very overwhelming.
But again, create your outline. What are your goals? What
do you want to achieve? You know, know your market. Know your
customers. Know your budget, okay. Sometimes you might have to
get some legal advice on certain aspects, but if you have
things written out ahead of time, you won't have that birth by
fire.
You get to just put the toes in slowly into the water a
little bit to test it out, and then jump in. But the resources
that my colleagues here have mentioned make that transition
into international markets incredibly easy, compared to what I
had to do.
As Justin mentioned, there are numerous aspects with the
U.S. Commercial Services that provide companies opportunities
for expansion and growth, and that is a great way to test the
waters. So, our technologies are quite different, but you have
also done, and you have worked at NASA before.
You know, you have indicated as well. But even if you are
creating a unique firefighter suit, for example, with new
technology, this patent technology, they can use that
everywhere around the globe. And you can find your markets
easily by targeting that and using those resources on there.
I mentioned earlier, on the ITA, they have a country
commerce guide. You can go into these guides and look up all
these different countries and find out what do you need to do
to be able to export to that country. What are the regulations?
What are the rules? Like we, you know, ship things to Saudi
Arabia.
Sending things into the kingdom requires multiple steps of
documentation that you wouldn't have otherwise shipping to the
UK or to France or to Germany. Same with some of the other
Middle Eastern countries as well.
Chair Shaheen. Drew, I am sure you could add to that as
well. But can I also ask you in your, testimony, you mentioned
that the Rural Export Center, so the RAISE program was a game
changer. Talk about what you got from that that made that a
game changer, if you would.
Mr. Matter. Yes. So, we--I think it was very eye opening
for me to look through our HS codes and do several cycles with
this team of analysts.
And they said, okay, so what do you make, and honestly,
there were five or six different levels of, I said, well, we
make cooling systems for computers, and they would send back a
report. These things? No, no, not these things. Different kind
of niche. I would tell them another thing. Well, these things?
No.
By the end of six, five or six cycles--they were very
patient with me because I think I also got to the point where I
said, you know, this is exactly what they do, and they said,
that is a little too specific. Okay, let's bring it--back up a
little bit.
We were able to really hone in then on where the United
States is exporting or what the countries around the world that
are importing those specific codes. And in the world of cooling
computers, there are all kinds of ways to do it.
We give the analogy of, if you are--you know, in the world
of liquid cooling, there are Honda Accords and there are
Ferraris. We make a Ferrari. If you need a Honda Accord, it is
a great car, and you should go buy one. But if you need a
Ferrari, we make a Ferrari.
So, we were able to actually look at the kinds of countries
and hone in on first a group of countries around the world, and
then from there say, okay, now let me look at 20 different
factors that I can rank, what is most important to Mikros. One
of them was IP.
In addition to the revenue and those kinds of things, we
also wanted to pick different continents. We wanted to
diversify geographically and by different kinds of markets. And
by the end of the time, we had picked three countries at which
they then dug in.
And at the end of that, the country reports, we actually
had names of companies and the potential for them to the, give
us contacts at those companies to call.
Chair Shaheen. And so, did you use BIS, as Lisa said, to
check out whether there were concerns about those companies?
Mr. Matter. We did. And the report had some factors of ease
of doing business, regulatory compliance, and ranking sort of
worldwide, which we were able to understand more broadly as
well. Yes, it was very helpful for us.
Chair Shaheen. And are you still working with the RAISE
program and with that Rural Center?
Mr. Matter. Right now, we are still going through the whole
report. There is so much that we can act on in that. And I want
to say for the low, low price--it was kind of a steal. If we
were to enlist a marketing group that would be private, it
would have been 10 times the cost. And so, it was very helpful
for a small business.
It was something very--we would not have done that because
of the cost with another group. But with this group, it was an
easy spend and it was very clear that the focus, the tailored
focus on us was a unique asset.
Chair Shaheen. And how long did it take to get the report?
Was it----
Mr. Matter. They spent a good couple months getting the
information out of me. And then I would say another few months
getting the report put together.
Chair Shaheen. Justin is nodding. Has that been an issue or
are you feeling like that gets done expeditiously?
Mr. Oslowski. Yes, we have definitely devoted more
resources to the Rural Export Center. And I think our closest
center is in Charleston. So, you know in hindsight, I look at
it two ways----
Chair Shaheen. Charleston, South Carolina--West Virginia.
Mr. Oslowski. West Virginia. Yes, and so my thought was,
well, we are so efficient here in the Northeast, we just don't
need additional resources. What can I say? Yankee ingenuity.
But you know, Taylor and I serve that function.
We have introduced RAISE. Adam has done a great--you know,
rose--raised the profile. And but it is--you know, it does take
some time. Part of that is because of the due diligence around
it. They want to make sure that the market research is being
conducted appropriately and properly.
Some of that is just because of the demand as well. But,
you know, this is a living document. Once a RAISE report is
conducted, I think companies can certainly use that for years
to come because it is a country matrix. It is a pretty fancy
outline, there you go, you know, of what--and a lot of our
companies are actually using it to reinforce resource
allocation because they are focused on this market or that
market.
But why should we really be there? So, this is a living
document that provides live feedback basically because you can
change the inputs, the weights of those inputs. And so, yes, it
is a little slower than I think most companies would expect,
but as long as the quality report that comes out, and like I
said, we want to make sure we are doing it correctly.
Mr. Matter. And we have a list of 30 countries, and we
highlight the top 3, but once we are done with those, we will
move on to number 4. So, there is plenty that comes with that,
that you can act on for years to come.
Chair Shaheen. So, I was looking at the top countries that
we export to and obviously our top trading partners obviously
is the--number one is Canada. And I think number two is Germany
and number three is Mexico.
So, makes sense as part of the trade agreement between
Canada--the North American Trade Agreement, which is now
[US]MCA, that that would make sense. But are there other
regions of the world, other parts, other countries that you all
are looking at as potential trading partners? You mentioned
India, Drew. Are there--the Indo-Pacific, I know is----
Mr. Matter. Yes. We focused on Southeast Asia. We focused
on India, and we wanted to--we actually had to decide between a
country in Europe and a country in South America. So, I think,
we because we had had--before I would say this efforts with our
friends here over the past five years. We just had a client
that found us from Japan, a client that found us from Israel,
and a client that found us from Germany.
And so, and those are in a more technologically focused
countries, and it was maybe statistically easy to think that
that is where we would be exporting. I think this allowed us to
look geographically, broadly.
And then also, where are the--when we do cooling, we can do
it for computers, but we can also do it for lasers, and we can
do it for electric vehicles. And so, that diversification of
the market also helps bring stability for Mikros.
Chair Shaheen. So, did you decide on the Latin American
country or the European country?
Mr. Matter. We went with a European country.
Chair Shaheen. And why?
Mr. Matter. That is a good question. I think we wanted to--
we had no other than the one country in Germany--or other than
Germany, we had no other countries in Europe, and we felt like
there was--we were seeing more kind of business trends in
especially the power electronics realm going into the European
market.
And then also with data center, there is a big move in
Europe to use the waste heat from data centers to heat homes,
which is I think a pretty neat--that is a pretty neat thing.
Chair Shaheen. Yes. Combined heat and power, something that
we are looking at in the U.S. as well.
Mr. Matter. Yes. So, we are very attracted to that. I did
participate actually in a commercial service seminar with doing
trade with Brazil. And that was our other option. There are
some major aerospace manufacturers there, and that was the
other option.
Chair Shaheen. And Lisa, you talked about the fact that
about 45 percent--I think you said 45 percent of your business
now is an exports?
Ms. Rogers. It has jumped to 51.
Chair Shaheen. That is right.
Ms. Rogers. Yes, it did. But yes, it--from the 45 to 51
percent, it did jump. And that was largely in part due to the
geopolitical environment for that aspect of our company. Our
growth was so significant that internally we had to split into
two, into a consumer products division and into the aerospace
and defense division.
One of the systems that we make is a bearing inspector
system, and it does low speed, high resolution testing on
bearings, and very small bearings. And, as you can imagine, in
many industries, particularly in aerospace and defense, there
are bearings on everything.
So, you know, the unclassified version is that we
manufacture the systems that calibrate the Patriot missiles and
the THAAD missile program. We are also involved with the
Artemis mission for the moon, which is pretty exciting. And
then on the consumer products, we test your bottle caps.
So, we have a wide pendulum swing between those, but we
have seen the most significant growth in the aerospace and
defense, and internationally, with that bearing inspector and
the associated products that go with that.
As countries, considering the environment that you are in,
you have to keep your finger on the pulse, that there is a
greater need for our equipment.
Chair Shaheen. And Justin, you rattled off a number of
statistics about trade jobs in your testimony. And one of the
things that is implicit, I think, in some of those statistics
is that it helps small businesses be more recession proof.
Mr. Oslowski. Oh, absolutely.
Chair Shaheen. So, when we went through the pandemic----
Mr. Oslowski. Diversification of the revenue stream, yes.
Chair Shaheen [continuing]. Those businesses who could
export--and I can't remember if it was you or Lisa who talked
about being able to continue to do business during the
pandemic, and the difference that that made for so many
businesses.
It really makes a huge difference and is one of the things
that I think doesn't get talked about as much, but it is really
critical.
Mr. Matter. Yes. I would add one of the biggest benefits of
being a small business in New Hampshire is really the size of
the State. There is a strong sense of community here. We call
each other by first names.
And when--you know, if--I have been on a call, a national
call with the U.S. Commercial Service where you had different
folks highlighted, different kinds of markets. And my first
thought was on exporting, somebody exporting perishable foods
is very different than somebody cooling a supercomputer, right.
And I feel like, and I have said this several times to
Taylor and Justin, I don't know what I have to offer here. But
the beautiful thing is, whatever you are making, that you can
call a team that is an interconnected, interagency team, and
they will say, you need to talk to this person. You need to
talk to this person.
I think that is a real benefit of being in New Hampshire.
And I think as exports grow and as the resources grow, I think
we need to keep that sense of community--actually is very
empowering. And actually, that sense of community gets revenue
faster to companies. It is often overlooked but I think it is
very valuable.
Chair Shaheen. Yes. No, and Adam, you and Justin both
talked about that as well, but about the collaboration that
goes on, which I think is one of the things that we really do
well here, and we have so many other agencies represented
because everybody works together and that is critical for our
small businesses.
Can I--I know we are getting short--a little short on time
here. My staff is getting anxious there. But talk a little bit,
if you would, about outreach that you do. Because one of the
reasons we are doing this hearing is to try and make small
businesses more aware of the opportunities that exist out there
and the resources that are available to help them.
And that is why you all are here but talk about outreach
and what you do. And maybe, Adam and Justin, and from Lisa and
Drew, what you have seen that you think is helpful in terms of
letting companies know what is available. So, Adam.
Mr. Boltik. So, we are often called sort of one of those
best kept secrets, and I am sure Justin gets this as well,
which is both great because there is only a few of us, but at
the same time, you know, we want to be that resource.
We want to be known and want to be out there. And that is
where our partnerships come into play. You know, the way that
the system in New Hampshire is set up is no matter who you come
in and talk to, whether it is my office at BEA, the Commercial
Service, SBA, SBDC, like we automatically know who the right
people are to bring together to talk about the various programs
and services we have.
So, we have often been on basically joint client visits
where we are on calls. We are visiting facilities together, all
of us talking about the different tools that we can bring to
the table to help businesses, no matter where they are in their
business development or export journey. It is still always a
challenge.
Obviously, there is always lots more businesses that are
out there. You have mentioned sort of the universe of small
businesses that do export versus don't. We would also love to
see that number increase as well. But, you know, it is thanks
to those partners.
We also have wonderful champions like Drew and like Lisa.
Like folks that other companies who are here and some that
aren't, who love to talk about their work with us, and most
importantly, the success they have had.
Hearing those successful stories, I think, is the best tool
that we have to talking about what we can do and how we can
help. So, we are always looking for new ways to share those
stories. We are a Government agency, so sometimes it is not as
easy to share those stories as it is for Drew and Lisa.
But that is the great way to do it, is when people can see
that this does work in a wide range of industries, a wide range
of markets, they get excited, and they reach out to us. And
because we can all respond together with our experiences. I
think that is when we are doing the best for businesses.
Chair Shaheen. Okay. Does anybody want to add to that?
Mr. Oslowski. Yes, I just think it is a leveraging of our
resources. I mean, the partnerships here, our outreach, really.
You know, what private sector companies don't want to hear is I
am from the Government, you should trust me. But they want to
hear from Lisa. They want to hear from Drew.
And they want to understand the experiences that they have
had with us. And, you know, that is not completely fair because
there is a little bit of an anti-government bias. We are
obviously here very focused on our clients.
But, you know, but they are our best salespeople to go out
there and to talk about what we have been able to successfully
accomplish. You, being able to highlight exporting and
international business as part of a field hearing.
That is our best advertisement for, you know, utilizing our
services, leveraging the resources that are available, and
actually putting a plan into action.
Chair Shaheen. And for Lisa and Drew, maybe just can you
talk about what the biggest challenges are that you think as
you are----
Ms. Rogers. Currently? Getting the right people. Finding
the right people to talk to. You know, now that we are
established and you know we have that good, solid foundation
that is under us, that can be the trickiest part.
And but once you have got your foot in the door--and I
think that would speak to so many other people as well, just
getting your foot in the door and making sure it stays open.
And so, the resources that our small company has been exposed
to because the colleagues here, has had an enormous impact.
Sometimes you don't know you are thirsty until someone puts
the glass of water in front of you. And, you know, that is
really--you know, really how I see it. If I had to look
retrospectively, I wish that I had known these were there
because I wouldn't have otherwise. You know, I wouldn't know to
intuitively go look for an e-global institute.
So, I think putting something out in publications, in you
know, the New Hampshire Business Review and other publications
that puts these in front of people's, hey, did you know that
this is available to you?
That is giving them their glass of water, in my opinion.
And that that is a key, I think, first step that I wish that I
had. And I think that that is paramount to getting your foot in
the door and getting started. That momentum to accelerate
forward.
Mr. Matter. I would say in the technology world, on
projects that take a lot of engineering investment up front,
our biggest risk is investing in a project for months, years
and either it not coming to fruition or finding out that the
engineers, you know--the engineers wanted the Ferrari, and the
supply chain people wanted the Honda.
And so, when the supply chain people say, why does this
Honda cost the Ferrari price? And when you have to say your
engineers designed it that way. That is tricky for us. So
internationally, I think there can be a challenge in making
sure that the client is for real.
So, it is--we have gotten--had enough of these meetings
where we can kind of tell, are they just testing the waters of
high tech American companies to kind of see what is out there?
And these companies can ask us to do lots of things, which as a
small business in New Hampshire, I can deploy my engineering
resources and waste a lot of opportunity cost on something that
is not going to come to fruition.
What has been helpful in now having a rep in India, for
instance--now we have somebody on the ground who can go and
test the waters for us, and we can train that person, that team
to do that for us. I think that is one of--that is probably our
biggest challenge right now is picking the projects that are
going to--it may have the highest ROIs is one way to put it,
but another way is not have a spin our wheels for no reason.
And when you are exporting, there is another element of
time and energy and cost there that we have to be much more
careful of.
Chair Shaheen. Well, I can tell you--I serve on the Foreign
Relations committee. And in that capacity, I have had a chance
to travel in the last two years to four countries in South--
Latin America, and four countries just recently in the Indo-
Pacific. And not to mention, a number of trips to Europe.
And I can tell you that every country we visited, number
one on their list was trade. They said, we want to do more
business with the United States. We want to do more trade. What
are you going to do to help encourage that trade?
So, the interest is out there. We just have to make sure
that the resources are available for companies and that
people--that we can do those match ups in a way that work for
both sides.
Mr. Oslowski. What are their names, by the way? [Laughter.]
Chair Shaheen. Well, one of the countries that was very
interested, South Korea. You mentioned South Korea. And Japan.
And I--Japan has moved way up on the list in terms of trading
partners since I was in the Governor's office.
So that is a very good sign. To see those trading partners
increase in countries where we haven't historically done
business is really exciting. Well does any--would anyone like
to make any final comments before we close?
I know we promised folks we would get you out in time to
have all the resource agencies be available. And so, thank you
all very much for joining us, to all of our witnesses. Please
stay in touch.
I know you will stay in touch with Justin and Adam, and
hopefully you will with our office and the other folks who are
represented here. The record will remain open for two weeks for
additional questions and statements. And I would just point
out, for any companies that are interested, we do New Hampshire
Business Day on June the 12th.
In Washington, we have a number of folks who are coming
from the Administration and Government to talk to small
businesses in New Hampshire, and one of those people is
Secretary Raimondo who is--and also Doctor Panch, who heads the
National Science Foundation, who you mentioned Drew.
So, we have--we also have somebody from the Department of
Defense. So, we have--we will have lots of folks who will be
there to answer questions and to talk about what opportunities
are available. So, if you haven't taken advantage of signing up
for that, they can do that through Tina----
Ms. Kasim. Yes--we have invitations with the QR codes, so
you can just scan that, and we will get you registered.
Chair Shaheen. And just before we close, I want to--because
we have a number of resource agencies here, I just want to go
through and mention who is here as part of the official record
before we close the hearing, because we have, in addition to
the U.S. Commercial Service and New Hampshire's Office of
International Commerce, we have the Export-Import Bank here, I
think, represented. If you--great, thank you.
And we have SBA's New Hampshire District Office, Amy
Bassett is here. And of course, Liz Gray. We already, mentioned
the Small Business Development Center. I think we have SCORE, a
network of mentors. Yes, thank you. And the Center for Women
and Enterprise. And we have staff from New Hampshire's Apex
Accelerator, which we have already talked about.
And the Manufacturing Extension Partnership I think is
here. Great. And last but not least, I have already introduced
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. So, we have lots of folks
here. So, it is an opportunity not just for any businesses who
are here to network, but for all of you to network with each
other, for those of you who may not know everybody who is here
represented.
And I want to thank all of you for being here--and for the
work that you do every day to support our small businesses. As
somebody mentioned on the panel so eloquently, I think it was
you Justin, that our small businesses, the more we can do to
help them, the more job opportunities we have for people, the
better the jobs, and the more opportunities for families.
So again, thank you all so much for joining us. And for all
of our panelists, thank you for being here and for your
testimony, and we look forward to continuing to work with you.
At this point, I will officially close the hearing.
[Whereupon, at 11:09 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
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