MINNESOTA SMALL BUSINESS, DOM-EX INC., EXPORTS HEAVY EQUIPMENT TO MALI WITH EX-IM BANK LOAN GUARANTEE
Dom-Ex Inc., a small business in Hibbing, Minn., is exporting $2.1 million of used graders, bulldozers, trucks and other heavy equipment to a private sector road construction company in Mali with the help of a loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). To support the sale, Ex-Im Bank is guaranteeing a $2 million loan from Allfirst Bank in Baltimore, Md., to Idrissa Coulibaly d/b/a General Malienne d'Enterprises (GME) of Bamako, Mali.
Ex-Im Bank is committed to helping U.S. companies, especially small businesses, to realize the export opportunities in the developing markets of sub-Saharan Africa, said Ex-Im Bank Vice Chairman Eduardo Aguirre, Jr. Ex-Im Bank exists to help U.S. companies access markets where trade financing would otherwise be unavailable, and this transaction illustrates how we can enable these sales.
We are excited about this project, as well as several others this year. We and other U.S. exporters are fortunate to have Ex-Im Bank to facilitate the financing of these types of projects, Dom-Ex Inc. President David Ellefson said.
Dom-Ex Inc. is exporting two graders, two bulldozers, two compactors, four tipper trucks and spare parts manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. and Mack Trucks Inc. The buyer, GME, will use the equipment to expand its road construction operations. Societe d'Equipment du Mali S.A., a private company that provides affordable housing in Mali, is a guarantor on the transaction.
Additionally, in fiscal year 2002, Ex-Im Bank has authorized a total of $2.6 million in loan guarantees in four transactions to enable Dom-Ex Inc. to sell equipment to Senegal. The company is also benefiting from a $3.8 million Ex-Im Bank loan guarantee, which is supporting a sale to Mexico.
Dom-Ex Inc. is a supplier of new, used and rebuilt heavy mobile equipment for mining and construction industries worldwide. The company has 55 employees and is headquartered in Hibbing, Minn., with offices in Dallas, Texas, and Miami, Fla.
Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal government agency that assists in financing U.S. exports, primarily to developing markets, by providing loans, loan guarantees and export credit insurance. In fiscal year 2001, Ex-Im Bank authorized financing to support $12.5 billion of U.S. exports worldwide. In the past four years, the Bank has authorized more than $1.6 billion to support U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa.