Largest security and defense trade show in Latin America provides worldwide exposure for small and mid-sized Florida companies 

ORLANDO, FL (May 6, 2014) – Today, Secretary of Commerce and Enterprise Florida (EFI) president & CEO, Gray Swoope, announced that the EFI-led trip to Mexico’s Expo Seguridad resulted in more than $4 million in total projected sales for six Florida security companies. The show, held on April 8-10 in Mexico City, is the largest security event in Latin America and draws attendance from nearly 30 countries.

Secretary Swoope said, “Expo Seguridad is a great opportunity for companies to exhibit and network with other security and defense specialists. We have more than 17,000 defense and security companies in Florida, most of which are small and medium-sized businesses. Part of EFI’s mission is to help our small businesses expand and diversify through international trade, and shows like Expo Seguridad allow us to help those companies achieve that growth. I congratulate the companies on their success at the trade show.”

Enterprise Florida provided Target Sector Trade Show Grants (TSTG) to four companies which attended the show for the first time. Three of the four companies with TSTG’s were in the U.S. pavilion, and there were six Florida companies in attendance overall. Through its Tampa Bay and Mexico regional offices, EFI provided a number of appointments in addition to the normal agenda for four of the TSTG companies. EFI has 15 international offices working to promote Florida to businesses and investors around the world.

The participating Florida companies include:

• Ditek Corporation – Largo

Provider of quality surge protection

• HighCom Security – Clearwater

Manufacturer of security products and personal protection gear

• LOKSAK – Apopka

Manufacturer of waterproof bags

• NITV Federal Services – West Palm Beach

Manufacturer of voice recognition software

• SCIF Solutions – Orange Park

Developer of sensitive compartmented information facilities

• West Indies Technologies – Hallandale Beach

Manages projects with engineering, programming, and wireless/technology

Jim Kane, Executive Director at NITV Federal Services, LLC said, “Expo Seguridad allowed NITV Federal Services to assist our new distributor, increase our market recognition as well as generate valuable sales leads. Our expectations were exceeded in that we obtained more than 200 sales leads, and we are confident many will result in actual sales. Finally, the event allowed us to put our name ‘on the map’ in Mexico which should result in NITV Federal Services creating more employment opportunities. Enterprise Florida provides an invaluable service and the state of Florida is very forward thinking offering such a service to small and midsize businesses.”

Maria Yepes, International Business Strategic Manager at DITEK said, “Expo Seguridad allowed us to talk directly to end users and integrators and understand their needs for our products. We provided support to our current distributors and direct clients through face-to-face interaction. Mexico is an excellent market and has great potential for DITEK’s portfolio of surge protection products. Events like Expo Seguridad help increase our exposure and presence significantly. We appreciate the support provided by Enterprise Florida which helped us accomplish our goals for continued growth.”

Linda Kennedy, President of LOKSAK, Inc. said, “This was our first time attending the Expo Seguridad show and it was a great opportunity for us to network. We generated 300 sales leads and gave out more than 2,000 samples of our products. We already had an increased interest coming from Latin America but this show provided us with more exposure. Without Enterprise Florida, we could not have accomplished the success we experienced at Expo Seguridad.”

EFI maintains an extensive schedule of overseas trade missions and exhibitions worldwide. In 2013, EFI hosted 40 domestic and overseas events, with 912 Florida small businesses generating more than $775 million in total projected export sales.

Total projected sales from recent EFI international events include:

• Singapore Airshow, Singapore: Twenty-two companies attended Asia’s largest aerospace and defense exhibition, recording more than $62 million in total projected sales.
• Arab Health, Germany: The 24 Florida exhibitors who attended the Germany-based show reported more than $111 million in total projected sales.
• Dubai Airshow, Dubai: Dubai Airshow resulted in more than $67 million in total projected sales for 11 Florida aviation and aerospace businesses. 

International trade and foreign direct investment accounted for about one-sixth of the state’s economic output last year, and supports an estimated one million jobs. Florida has the highest trade surplus among all states, with total trade exports plus imports hitting a record of $162.2 billion. Florida has a number of strengths to leverage, including one of the fastest-growing international economies, strong air and seaport infrastructure, and a large and well-qualified multicultural workforce. Learn more about Enterprise Florida’s export assistance programs.

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Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida’s businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for the state of Florida.  EFI facilitates job growth for Florida businesses through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses.

Expo Seguridad is a homeland security exhibition that offers top security companies a unique opportunity to demonstrate their competitive advantages in key targeted markets. The show had more than 12,500 attendees in 2012. More than 61 percent of the visitors are presidents/CEO’s, directors, managers or department supervisors in their organizations.

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