BIRMINGHAM, AL, OCTOBER 11, 2016 -- Third-generation family-owned Induron Protective Coatings is looking at new sales in Latin America after participating in a trade mission in September.
Exporting is important to the Birmingham-based company. "If Induron is going to remain a family-owned business for another generation, we really need to be targeting international markets," said CEO Davies Hood.
Induron produces a number of industrial primers and finishes, including corrosion-inhibiting coatings for energy-transmission structures and linings for sewage pipes. It was one of about 100 U.S. businesses and organizations on the Trade Winds-Latin America trade mission in September, organized by the U.S. Commercial Service and sponsored by the Alabama Department of Commerce.
The company visited Mexico and Chile to meet with potential partners about business opportunities and viewed the mission as a productive first step. “We had some very positive meetings, all with the right people,” Hood said. “I’m lining up a follow-up trip to Mexico and we’re in talks with potential partners in Chile.”
Robert Stackpole, director of the U.S. Commercial Service team in Alabama, says Latin America is a perfect market for companies like Induron. “Chile and the rest of the region plans to invest billions in its infrastructure in the next decade,” he said. “Companies down there know U.S. products are the global standard, and it’s great to see Induron looking at the market.”
"We offer an economical product that is already recognized as an industry standard," says Hood. "We can add 20-40 years to the lifespan of their existing Power Transmission & Distribution infrastructure, so these countries can expand power distribution rather than replacing existing structures."
"We continue to partner on Trade Winds because it has been a positive driver of new business for Alabama companies," said Hilda Lockhart, director of the Alabama Department of Commerce International Trade Division. "Alabama companies produce innovative and high quality products, and we know they can compete anywhere in the world."
Latin America isn’t the only market Induron is looking to grow following Trade Winds. The company also had a team in Kuwait in September looking at new opportunities.
"I got a call from our team in the Middle East about a meeting and was able to get additional support from the Commercial Service there,” Said Hood. "Within 36 hours, the Commercial Service team at the Embassy in Kuwait set up meetings between the Induron team and our potential partners. Now we’re looking at some significant opportunities there as well."
Nearly 4,000 Alabama companies exported goods in 2015, according to data from the U.S. International Trade Administration. Mexico was the state’s third largest export market, buying $2.9 billion of products made in Alabama.
About Induron Coatings
Founded in 1947, Induron manufactures high-performance coatings that serve a range of industrial applications, including the wastewater; electrical transmission and distribution; and potable water storage, treatment and transmission industries. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with sales associates across the United States, Induron has grown to 34 employees in its 69-year history as a premier protective coatings provider. To learn more, please visit www.Induron.com
