‘Feet on the ground’ gives Florida manufacturers a leg up in Mexico
(Feb 06, 2023) – Florida marine companies looking to do business in Mexico have a leg up on their competition thanks to the state’s public/private commerce department and its local field office. For the past 25 years, Enterprise Florida Inc (EFI) has maintained local representation in Mexico City to look for both export and import opportunities.
“We help Florida companies to export to the Mexican market. We provide information about the market, distributors – to validate likely partners. We help schedule appointments, and we attend the meetings to provide translation and understand cultural issues,” explained Ana Arroya Yllanes, director, EFI Mexico City. “We also promote Florida as a business destination.
We deal with small and medium-sized companies that are looking to expand to the US market. These are companies that we seek out or are referred to us by the US embassy or the American Chamber of Commerce.”
Cancun Show Exceeds Expectations, Opens New Markets
(Dec 12, 2022) – While final attendance figures are yet to come, the general consensus for the second edition of the Cancun International Boat Show (CIBS) was an overwhelming success with a number of surprises and served as a gateway opening new markets to US companies exhibiting at the show. “My biggest surprise is the quality of the people we were able to bring to the event,” show director Steven Lorenzo told IBI late Sunday as the show was winding down, adding attendance was “well over” 7,000 visitors.
“I’m thrilled with the traffic. I’m thrilled with the quality of visitors we’ve had at the show. Very upscale; much more upscale than I was expecting.”
In its second year, CIBS doubled in size from its inaugural event, taking advantage of the new, nearly completed GOS Marina and the Puerto Cancun residential/retail development on the Yucatan Peninsula’s Caribbean coast.
Florida Marine Manufacturers Look To Expand Markets at Cancun
(Dec 2, 2022) – Less than 3,000 miles across the Gulf of Mexico separate the state of Florida from the Caribbean’s ‘mini-Dubai’, the resort destination of Cancun, Mexico, so it should be no surprise that Florida’s formidable marine industry will be well represented at the Cancun International Boat Show & Marine Expo (CIBSME). Fully half of the US exhibitors in attendance at the show are from the ‘sunshine state’ and are participating through the auspices of Enterprise Florida (EFI), the state’s commerce department that became a public/private partnership more than two decades ago.
“We are legislatively mandated to support the export sales and growth of small to medium size manufacturers in the state of Florida,” explained TJ Villamil, Sr VP of International Trade Development. “It is [also] about attracting businesses to Florida that pay higher than average wages and diversify the state’s economy.” While EFI supports all Florida manufacturing, the focus is on companies under 500 employees and marine, by virtue of its economic impact, gets a lot of attention and a dedicated team. The group has participated in the Sydney and Dubai boat shows, as well as METSTRADE.