Why Should Your Company Apply for the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Global Trade?
Michael Schrekenhofer
Account Manager
Leather Brothers, 2021 Rising Star Recipient
“What an honor it was to have received the Rising Star Award at the Governor’s Mansion… If it wasn’t for the Leather Brothers Team all working together we wouldn’t have thrived during the pandemic like we did… After receiving it, we sent out a press release to all of our raw material vendors and customers informing them of this award and its recognition. By doing this it bettered our relationship with our vendors we use for hardware materials, but also helped push some export accounts we’ve struggled with selling in the past to give us a try, which has resulted in an increase in exports overall… [The Governor’s Award] was overall a very easy process.. I believe there are many more manufacturing businesses across our state that will learn and benefit from the Arkansas DEC organization and Governor’s Award in the coming years.”
Jason Risner
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Alliance Rubber Company, 2021 Medium Company Recipient
“The Governor’s Award for Excellence in Global Trade was the ideal way to thank our 150 team members who came together to overcome adversity in 2020. As the world was dealing with a shortage of elastic for masks and face shields, Alliance Rubber Company was able to adopt new processes and source new equipment at a lightning pace and quickly shift production to items with potential for a life-saving effect. It was an honor to be recognized by the Governor of Arkansas for our efforts. The award gives us confidence for our continued success in exporting as an Arkansas-based manufacturer.“
Stefan Johanson
CEO
ECO John
“We were really excited that we won this award and we have benefited a great deal from this. We received a lot of recognition in our community as well as from our customers all over the world. We got connected with new local contacts that are helping us to grow the company. Internally, it has motivated our employees and it is something new hires find very positive. The ceremony was very nice and ArDEC did an excellent job throughout the entire process.”
Chris W. Coleman
President/CEO
Safe Foods Corporation
“It was an honor to be recognized and receive the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Global Trade. Our Company and team members strive to produce and deliver the highest quality solutions to all our customers around the world. The Governor presenting us this award recognizes those efforts and gives us confidence for continued operational excellence as an Arkansas-based company.”
John Sinclair
CEO/CFO
Lycus Ltd.
“The fact we won an award created a great deal of positive recognition for us in our community. It has been the basis for networking with the Department of Commerce and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission for resource information and assistance and it has also provide a forum for networking with like exporters. Lastly, it has allowed me to share our experiences with local companies who also export.”
Ben Steckling
Technical Sales/R&D
Garreco Dental
“There are many benefits to the Governor’s Award for an organization, such as: Peer recognition – Places you in front of Governor and other Arkansas business leaders; Local recognition – Employee draw when seeking new hires; Media recognition – Allows for PR through social media and print media; Networking – Opened doors to global business possibilities, ArDEC – Expanded thinking of exports, tariffs, etc.”