by Pandemic-related travel restrictions kept international trade reps from participating the past 2 years
RALEIGH, N.C. — After a nearly three-year pandemic-induced hiatus, the North Carolina Furniture Export Office is resuming its Go Global Road Show events that connect furniture and other businesses in North Carolina with prospects and opportunities around the world.
Part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, the export office typically holds these road shows during the spring High Point Market to connect businesses with its team of foreign trade representatives from around the world. The goal is to help businesses identify export opportunities in various international markets and also answer related questions related to doing business overseas.
However, due to travel restrictions, the export office has not able to bring this group into the states since 2019, or before the start of the pandemic, Liz Isley, director of the Furniture Export Office, told Home News Now.
In July the group will host four Road Show events that are taking place in Wilmington, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., Greensboro, N.C. and Charlotte.
“Whether your company is currently exporting, export ready, or you are interested in learning more about developing international marketing, the Go Global Road Show is an excellent opportunity for North Carolina companies to develop new foreign markets that can increase exports and profits,” Isley said in a letter issued to businesses about the event.
She added that six international trade offices serve about 65 different markets in those regions. The offices are in Mexico City, Toronto, Belgium, Germany, Singapore and Dubai. The Belgium and Germany offices cover Europe, Singapore covers the ASEAN region and Dubai covers the Middle East.
“And they are extensions of our office, so they offer support to North Carolina companies of any size and for any array of requests,” she said, of the help the foreign trade representatives provide. “It may be supply chain-oriented, or identifying potential partners or vendors within their markets that companies can utilize to source materials — it could be frames or leather or anything for furniture specifically.”
“They also help companies identify sales agents or reps, or distributors or retail establishments,” she added of the connections the trade representatives can help make in the various foreign markets.
The schedule for the Go Global Road Show is as follows:
July 11 — Wilmington, at the North Campus of Cape Fear Community College at 4500 Blue Clay Road, Castle Hayne, North Carolina. This will include 30-minute one-on-one meetings from 9:00 am to 12:00 p.m. and a networking lunch with the North Carolina trade representatives and the North Carolina international trade team from 12:00 pm to 1:30 p.m.
July 12 — Raleigh, at the Western Campus of Wake Technical Community College, 3434 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary, North Carolina. There will be 30-minute one-on-one meetings from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. A networking lunch with the North Carolina trade representatives and the North Carolina international trade team will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
July 13 — Greensboro, at North Carolina A&T State University, 1020 East Wendover Ave. This will also include 30-minute one-on-one meetings from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and a networking lunch with the North Carolina trade representatives and the North Carolina international trade team from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
July 14 — Charlotte, at the North Carolina Research Campus and Advanced Technology Center at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, 399 Biotechnology Lane in Kannapolis. There will be 30-minute one-on-one meetings from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. A networking lunch with the North Carolina trade representatives and the North Carolina international trade team will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
In addition to the foreign trade representatives, the events will be attended by representatives from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Commercial Service and the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC)
To learn more about each event contact Isley at 919-447-7751 or via email at liz.isley@edpnc.com
