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Montana World Trade Center leads Trade Mission of Montana Companies to China, South Korea

Two Missoula businesses and one Lolo company will join the EnterpriseMontana trade mission to China and South Korea next week.

The Montana World Trade Center http://www.mwtc.org will lead the group of Montana businesses on an eight-day trip jam-packed with one-on-one meetings and networking sessions with potential buyers, partners and investors. The highlight of the trip will be a trade forum attended by 100 CEOs and entrepreneurs in Tianjin, China, said Trade Center Director Arnie Sherman, who has led many similar trips in previous years.

“We’re very, very excited about the potential and the possibilities,” he said.
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The trade mission is set to embark Aug. 4 with the help of the Commercial Services division of the U.S. Department of Commerce and Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., whose participation in last year’s overseas trade mission helped the group clear many trade issues and barriers, Sherman said.

Participants in this year’s trade mission include:

– Ryan, of Armor Auto http://armorcoat.armorauto.com/ in Missoula. The company develops new automotive accessories, including its ArmorCoat Paint Protection Coating.

– Bonnie Snavely, broker and owner of Real Estate Connections in Missoula. The firm deals in real estate investment and development.

– Martin Spethman, vice president of Globalization Partners International http://www.globalisationpartners.com/ in Lolo. The company provides translation, multilingual desktop publishing and consulting services.

– Jeff Ruffner, CEO of MSE Technology Applications Inc. http://www.mse-ta.com/ in Butte. The engineering and technology firm provides high-end engineering and technology solutions.

– Steve Holland, executive director of the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center http://www.mtmanufacturingcenter.com/ in Bozeman. The center is a statewide manufacturing outreach and assistance center.

– Pamela Cote, economic development specialist for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development http://bizmt.com/default.asp .

By TYLER CHRISTENSEN of the Missoulian

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2006/07/28/news/local/news03.txt

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Going in with eyes open

By BILL SCHWANKE of Missoulian.com

Armor Coat http://armorcoat.armorauto.com/ of Missoula is one of several Montana businesses or interested parties going on a trade mission to South Korea and China early in August.Listen hear for comments from Armor Coat owner John Ryan about a previous mission to Europe, the impact it’s had on his business, and what he hopes to accomplish on this latest junket.

John Ryan of Armor Auto in Missoula thought he had a pretty good product when he invented – with the help of “some very talented engineers” – a clear coat designed to protect automobile paint from chipping.

The idea was to steadily grow the business in the hopes that his product would catch on and the business would be successful.

But one trade mission junket to Germany, Spain and Ireland in 2005 changed things drastically for Ryan and his company. He landed a “solid partner” in Germany, and all of a sudden the steady growth concept turned into crunch time.

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2006/07/28/web/webnews/wnews53.txt

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