Governor’s Office of Economic Development Expands Global Reach at Expomin

Several Utah contracting, engineering and mining business leaders have gone south for the winter. But this was not a vacation. The Utah business and trade delegation joined Miguel Rovira, the regional director for the Americas at the Governor’s Office of Economic Development’s (GOED) International Trade and Diplomacy Office (ITDO) and more than 60,000 global participants in Santiago, Chile, for Latin America’s largest and most important mining trade show, Expomin.

Expomin lured more than 1,200 exhibitors from 30 countries. More than a dozen Utah companies touched down in Santiago for Expomin, many of which met privately with other global companies in addition to their presence on the floor of the trade show.

GOED and Utah business executives in the mining sector and related industries sought to establish or grow business partnerships among buyers and sellers to accelerate business development stateside and increase Utah’s global exports by expanding their international customer base.

“Chile and Utah have natural synergies in the mining sector and our presence at the trade show will give mining companies the opportunity to engage not only with Chilean  mining companies, but also with attendees from Brazil, Peru, Mexico and Colombia where mining is experiencing substantial growth,” said Rovira.

ITDO continually strives to expand businesses with an interest in Utah into the global marketplace. Rovira and Utah attendee Redmond Inc. met with the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and a prominent local law firm before the whole delegation assembled at a reception with the trade show’s organizer, Kallman International, and the U.S. Ambassador to Chile, the Honorable Alejandro Wolff.

Members of the delegation also met with the Chile’s Undersecretary of Economy, Tomás Flores; representatives from ASEXMA (an organization similar to the United States’ Small Business Administration); and Felix de Vicente, the director of ProChile, the export arm of the Chilean government.

While Expomin is primarily a mining trade show, GOED’s international team identified additional opportunities for potential partnerships between Utahns and Chileans. This includes the possibility for exchange agreements between engineering schools in both Utah and Chile, as well as electrical engineering consultation by a Utah ski resort for a resort that is expanding in Chile.

ITDO’s international trade and hosting coordinator, Aaron Neuenschwander, was also on hand representing GOED and the State of Utah.
(4.18.12)