The Connell Company Awarded Ex-Im Bank Sub-Saharan Africa Exporter of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 24, 2014
Media Contact Name/Phone
Matthew Bevens, 202-650-9823

Washington, D.C. - The Connell Company (Connell) today received the sub-Saharan Africa Exporter of the Year award from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). The award was presented at the Bank's 39th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

Connell's partnership with Ex-Im Bank is bringing new economic opportunity to sub-Saharan Africa, while creating jobs here at home - it's a win-win. said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “Ex-Im Bank is pleased to recognize Connell for helping to open new markets and export U.S. products to this fast-growing and vital region of the world.

Ex-Im Bank has partnered with family-owned, New Jersey-based Connell for nearly 40 years, supporting the company's international sales, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. Today, Connell's operations include: the international supplying of equipment and services to the mining industry (Connell Mining); the leasing of equipment, rolling stock, locomotives, barges, mining equipment and machinery (Connell Finance); the leasing of forklift trucks and other material handling equipment (Connell Equipment Leasing Company); and the acquisition, development and ownership of real estate (Connell Real Estate & Development Co.).

“The Connell Company has greatly appreciated the support Ex-Im Bank has been able to offer. Ex-Im Bank's underwriting department has been a tremendous help in the credit evaluation of a potential new customer,” said Mike Turley, Director of Finance at The Connell Company. “This partnership has allowed us to feel comfortable exporting products to customers in Africa, Central America and South America. We look forward to continuing to work with Ex-Im Bank.”

Connell Mining is an active user of Ex-Im Bank's multi-buyer and single-buyer insurance products in sub-Saharan Africa. Ex-Im Bank insures African receivables for the company under these policies across a number of companies and countries in sub-Saharan Africa., Connell reaches customers in more than 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ex-Im Bank's 2014 Annual Conference will focus on the global business environment and prospects for growth. The event will feature prominent members of the business and government community including Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Former Treasury Secretary and President Emeritus of Harvard University Lawrence Summers, Wells Fargo Chairman and CEO John Stumpf, SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk, Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya Austin, and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. A full listing of speakers, panelists, and moderators is available on Ex-Im's website: www.exim.gov.

About Ex-Im Bank:

The conference will focus on the global business environment and prospects for growth. Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that creates and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working-capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services. In the past fiscal year alone, Ex-Im Bank earned for U.S. taxpayers more than $1 billion above the cost of operations.

In FY 2013, Ex-Im Bank approved more than $27 billion in total authorizations to support an estimated $37.4 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 205,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For the year, the Bank approved a record 3,413 transactions— or 89 percent—for small-businesses. Small business exporters can learn about how Ex-Im Bank products can help them increase foreign sales athttp://go.usa.gov/ZVTd. For other information about Ex-Im, visit www.exim.gov.