EXIM's Export Credit Insurance Enabled Arkansas Small Business to Export More Than $14.6 Million in Past Six Years
PRESS RELEASE
Media Contact: Office of Communications (202-565-3203)
For Immediate Release: September 11, 2020
WASHINGTON - Allen Engineering Corporation (AEC), a small business in Paragould, Arkansas, that manufactures concrete equipment, has been named an Exporter of the Year by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM). The company, which has used EXIM's export credit insurance to support its international sales since 2006, will be honored during EXIM's 2020 Annual Conference, the largest conference in the agency's history, which is being held virtually September 9-11.
Allen Engineering, a family-owned company founded in 1964, designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets equipment for placing, finishing, polishing, and paving all types of concrete. A leading innovator in the concrete industry, the company is the premier provider of high-quality equipment that is sold and rented through a network of dealers and rental centers around the world.
"I am honored to recognize Allen Engineering Corporation on behalf of EXIM for its outstanding contributions to fulfilling our agency's mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports," said EXIM President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed. "The winners of EXIM's Exporter of the Year award come from every region of our country and many different industries, but all represent American ingenuity and success. Approximately 90 percent of EXIM's authorizations directly support small businesses like the exporters being awarded today, and at EXIM we are proud to help in the success of these small businesses as they compete in the global marketplace and support American jobs."
When Allen Engineering wanted to expand into new international markets, the company began using EXIM's export credit insurance, which allowed customers to buy its high-quality concrete products on credit terms without requiring cash-in-advance payments. EXIM's insurance enabled the company to continue increasing exports in its existing markets and expand into two new countries. Exporting supports 10 percent of the company's 130 employees. Since 2014, EXIM has supported exports valued at more than $14.6 million to nearly a dozen countries. The company's policies are facilitated by EXIM broker Export Insurance Services, Inc., of Augusta, Georgia.
"EXIM insurance has allowed AEC to access markets and customers we would not have been able to reach on our own," said Joey Ward, Allen Engineering Corporation's International Sales Director.
Since 2014, EXIM has supported exports valued at $263 million from 30 companies - including 20 small businesses like Allen Engineering Corporation - across Arkansas.
U.S. companies, particularly small businesses, can utilize EXIM's financing tools and resources to increase their international sales, showcase their "Made in the USA" products, and sustain American jobs. By partnering with EXIM, exporters can mitigate the risk of nonpayment on international sales, offer credit terms to foreign buyers, and access working capital loan guarantees. In addition, EXIM has implemented several COVID-19 (coronavirus) relief measures for U.S. exporters and financial institutions to enhance the agency's existing programs.
ABOUT EXIM:
EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.
For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.