Virginia as key player in global market furthered with expansion of 16 more companies

Gov. Glenn Youngkin today announced that 16 companies in the Commonwealth have graduated from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s (VEDP) Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program.

Thirteen companies have joined the two-year program. VALET has 391 graduated companies, and assists Virginia exporters that have firmly established domestic operations and are committed to international exporting as a growth strategy.

“International trade is a pillar of the Commonwealth’s economy, and the VALET program provides invaluable resources to guide Virginia businesses seeking growth into the global marketplace,” Youngkin said. “We congratulate these companies that have grown their domestic sales and are taking the next steps toward international expansion, advancing Virginia’s economic growth in diverse regions of the Commonwealth.”

Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick said the VALET program has facilitated for businesses of any size or sector access to global markets for more than 20 years, and helped nearly 400 Virginia companies expand.

“This award-winning program can be transformational as a growth strategy and provides long-term economic benefits for these businesses and the Commonwealth as a whole,” Merrick said.

The graduating companies are:

• Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (Fairfax County)

• Alacran Consulting (Montgomery County)

• ANRA Technologies (Fairfax County)

• Atlantic Research Group (Albemarle County)

• Axxor N.A. LLC (Pittsylvania County)

• Babylon Micro-Farms (City of Richmond)

• Black Dog Salvage (City of Roanoke)

• Bloomaker USA Inc. (Augusta County)

• Elgin Separation Solutions (Tazewell County)

• NAG Marine (City of Norfolk)

• QualiChem (City of Salem)

• RangeForce (Prince William County)

• River Front Services (Fairfax County)

• SimIS, Inc. (City of Portsmouth)

• SteelMaster Buildings (City of Virginia Beach)

• The Virginia Beer Company (York County)

VALET is a two-year international business acceleration program that provides participating companies with international sales plan development services, assistance from a team of experienced international service providers, international business meetings with potential partners, educational events, and customized market research. Forty-nine companies participate in the VALET program and 441 Virginia companies have been accepted since 2002.

The companies joining the VALET program are:

• Afton Scientific Corporation (Albemarle County)

• AQ Transformer Solutions (Wythe County)

• BluePrint Automation (Chesterfield County)

• Damon Company (City of Salem)

• DataXstream, LLC (James City County)

• DZYNE Technologies (Fairfax County)

• Fabritek Company, Inc. (City of Winchester)

• Learning Tree International (Fairfax County)

• Parsons Government Services (Fairfax County)

• Regulus Global (City of Virginia Beach)

• Universal Fibers (Washington County)

• Vibrent Health (Fairfax County)

• Yupo Corporation (City of Chesapeake)

“When Virginia companies succeed overseas, it further cements the Commonwealth’s position as a key player in the global marketplace and underscores the value of VEDP’s world-class VALET program,” Jason El Koubi, VEDP President and CEO, said. “We are excited to see the outcomes that these Virginia businesses will achieve — including substantial trade-supported job creation in Virginia — as a result of their participation in the program.”

Virginia exports more than $51 billion in goods and services annually. Exports of the Commonwealth’s products and services are critical to economic growth, supporting more than 257,000 jobs and generating $2 billion in annual tax revenue. VEDP offers numerous programs to assist Virginia companies with selling into the global marketplace and has a network of international market research consultants covering 122 countries around the globe.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1995 to encourage, stimulate and support the development and expansion of the economy of the Commonwealth. To accomplish its objectives of promoting economic expansion within the Commonwealth, the Partnership focuses its efforts on business recruitment, expansion and international trade development.