EXIM Bank Announces Small Business Award Winners

(Ex-Im Bank) Small businesses in Tennessee and South Carolina, Texas lender, Louisiana broker, and California trade agency to be recognized at 2018 Annual Conference

Washington, D.C. – In recognition of their outstanding contributions to supporting U.S. jobs through exports, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) today announced the winners of its small business awards for exporter, new exporter, lender, broker, and member of EXIM's Regional Export Promotion Program (REPP). The awards will be presented at EXIM's 2018 Annual Conference, which is being held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., on April 19-20.

The winners of this year's small business awards are:

Small Business Exporter of the Year: Classic American Hardwoods (Memphis, Tennessee) used EXIM's export credit insurance to rebuild its export portfolio, rehire 60 employees, and continue to add jobs.

New Small Business Exporter of the Year: Veteran-owned Tactical Medical Solutions (Anderson, South Carolina) uses EXIM's export credit insurance to export critically needed medical equipment and supplies to save lives.

Broker of the Year: Longstanding insurance broker J. Maxime Roy, Inc. (Lafayette, Louisiana) specializes in selling EXIM's export credit insurance and increased EXIM authorizations in 2017.

Lender of the Year: Experienced trade finance bank, Comerica (Dallas, Texas), is a leading provider of EXIM-guaranteed working capital loans in support of America's small business exporters.

REPP of the Year: The California Centers for International Trade Development (CITD) is an EXIM REPP member and a strong supporter that helps California small business owners learn about and access EXIM products to realize export opportunities in global markets.

“Small businesses are the ‘backbone' of our nation's economy, and increasing their exports is critical to U.S. economic growth and expanding employment. We are pleased to recognize these outstanding customers and trade professionals who are succeeding in the global marketplace and committed to our mission of supporting American jobs through exports,” said EXIM's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Goettman, who is serving as EXIM's acting head of agency.

In the five states where these award-winning companies are headquartered, EXIM supported approximately 420 exporters in 2017, more than 330 of which were small businesses, including 125 women-owned and minority-owned firms. EXIM authorizations to these states last year topped $600 million, which supported more than $2 billion of exports.

Over the past five years, EXIM support nearly 2,000 exporters in these five states, which includes almost 1,200 small businesses. EXIM authorizations over this period exceeded $14.5 billion, which supported almost $35 billion in exports from these states.