News

Dan Renberg, a member of the Board of Directors at the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), and Commerce Department Assistant Secretary Linda Conlin will be in Sioux Falls on Tuesday, May 21, 2002, to speak at the first annual Great Plains World Trade Center Conference on International Trade.

Renberg will talk with representatives of local companies and financial institutions about how the federal financing programs of the Ex-Im Bank, the export credit agency of the United States government, can help South Dakota companies compete in emerging markets and increase their export sales.

Increasing exports is the key to expanding company growth, said Renberg. We want to get the message out that exporters in South Dakota can be more competitive, reach new markets and increase their international sales with the help of Ex-Im Bank financing. Companies in the Great Plains region need to know that Ex-Im Bank is committed to supporting rural businesses and the agricultural sector, including both equipment and commodities.

While in Sioux Falls, Renberg will visit Hi Roller Conveyors, a small company that was able to expand its revenues by using Ex-Im Bank's medium-term loan guarantee to export $1.8 million of belt conveyor systems to Venezuela. Currently the company is using Ex-Im Bank's insurance product to sell the belt conveyors to Europe, Brazil and Mexico.

In South Dakota over the last five years, Ex-Im Bank financed $7.32 million in exports of all kinds from 11 South Dakota communities, including Sioux Falls. Ninety-two percent of these transactions were done with small businesses.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent U.S. government agency that helps finance the sale of U.S. exports primarily to emerging markets throughout the world by providing loans, guarantees and insurance. In fiscal year 2001, Ex-Im Bank supported $12.5 billion of U.S. exports worldwide.