Despite the latest census figures that might indicate the opposite, Du Page County is going out to the world.
Du Page businesses, that is, are embarking on exchange with foreign countries in ever-increasing numbers.
All the ingredients necessary for international success would appear to be in place: one part demand, one part supply, a dollop of encouragement, plus a pinch of educational and industrial resources. Mix well on a base of existing success and all gauges are set for hands across the ocean, any ocean.
Cleanup is not only easy, it is the goal of the recipe.
The export business seems to be cooking in Du Page. One indicator is the number of clients at the College of Du Page`s International Trade Center;
other measures include reports from private industry on unprecedented international growth.
According to COD Trade Center assistant Tanya Donaghey, since its program was established in 1988, clients have increased from 10 to today`s all-time high of 50.
”I`ve seen definite expansion in the number of clients but also in our program participation, which is open to anyone,” she said. ”We are a resource for businesses not only for educational and instructional workshops, but we are on line with four programs that supply us with access to international trade leads and statistics. We keep country files and industry files, particularly on industries important to the Du Page area.”
”People are beginning to see the handwriting on the wall,” said Judy Rodriguez, a 15-year veteran of international trade and president of Global Assistance, Ltd., an export-import consulting firm in Clarendon Hills, who has seen her own clientele triple in the last three years.
Rodriguez, who is also president of COD`s International Trade Center Advisory Board, said she is seeing ”even individuals who might be from, say, India and want to set up some kind of trade with their home country come to me for advice and help. It is not just huge corporations who are involved in foreign trade.”
Some companies have become huge as a result of foreign trade.
Fred Krehbiel, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Lisle`s Molex, Inc., put it succinctly when he said, ”Going global is not a choice. It is a necessity. Those who don`t simply won`t be around in 10 years.”
Molex, which manufactures connectors, terminals and interconnecting products for use in televisions, stereos and automobiles and boasts a whopping 71 percent of its sales and profits from export, had only two facilities, both in Illinois, prior to 1971.
Today Molex has 40 manufacturing facilities in 22 countries.
Growth like this can be facilitated by the aggressive approach the state of Illinois has demonstrated by promoting foreign trade, according to Donaghey.
She explained that COD`s International Trade Center is an outreach program originating at the University of Illinois/Chicago under the auspices of the Illinois World Trade Center.
According to Donaghey, Illinois is ranked eighth among the states in terms of exports with a 1989 total of $10.7 billion. Those figures are expected to grow 8 percent this year, compared to 6 percent projected growth for the United States.
If the key to success overseas is having the product to meet a demand, Du Page seems to stand on firm ground.
According to an article written by Gary R. Teske from the Office of Trade and Investment Analysis at the International Trade Administration in the Sept. 10, 1990, Business America magazine, ”Largest export dollar increases in first-half 1990 were aircraft/spacecraft parts, various types of electrical and industrial/service machinery and auto parts.”
Also listed among the top 10 United States dollar increases were computers and semiconductors as well as telecommunication equipment.
COD`s research shows that Du Page County businesses illustrate great export potential because of the proliferation of companies manufacturing, among other things, industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment, electronic and other electrical equipment, plus measuring, analyzing and controlling instruments, all high achievers according the national survey.
Indeed, Rodriguez likens Du Page`s global fever to the ”gold rush. Everyone wants to get involved. If they`ve got the drive and they`ve got the ambition and they do their homework, they will do well.”
