Administration official honors Hach Company

LOVELAND, CO, Feb. 12, 2008 -- Under Secretary for International Trade Christopher A. Padilla today presented the U.S. Commerce Department's Export Achievement Certificate to Hach Company of Loveland, Colo. The award is presented to businesses that have benefited from the Department's Commercial Service export assistance to make their first export sale or open new foreign markets.

"There has never been a better time to export," said Padilla. "More than 70 percent of the world's purchasing power is beyond our borders, and the Hach Company is an excellent example of how Colorado firms are tapping the global marketplace to increase sales that support jobs for the local economy. I congratulate Hach on their outstanding export success."

Hach Company provides advanced water quality instrumentation systems and technical support for wastewater treatment. The firm has utilized Commercial Service counseling, trade missions, and matchmaking services through the Denver U.S. Export Assistance Center and the agency's overseas offices. As a result, the company has made new to market sales to Chad, South Africa, Poland, Taiwan and Guatemala.

"The Commercial Service has provided a roadmap for navigating world markets, saving us valuable time and resources in the process, and giving us a competitive edge in the global marketplace," says Hermes Gonzalez, Director, International Sales, HACH Company. "Without this assistance, it would have taken much longer to attain the high level of export sales that we have already achieved."

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Denver-Aurora metropolitan exports sales grew 31 percent from 2005 to 2006. A total of 3,837 companies exported from Colorado locations in 2005. Of those, 3,374 (88 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.

The U.S. Commercial Service helps U.S. companies export and looks out for American business interests abroad.

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