Bryant summit about deals

As more than 500 people prepare to gather at Bryant University for World Trade Day in June, signs are pointing to increased interest in global trade among Ocean State businesses.
For starters, interest in the annual Bryant summit appears to be up. Organizers anticipate close to 600 people will attend, up from about 500 in recent years and 75 when the conference started 25 years ago.
And there are other signs businesses in the state are showing increased interest in global markets.
In 1986, the year of the first World Trade Day, exports from Rhode Island totaled $300 million. By 2008, that number had jumped to $2 billion, according to Bryant University. Last year, exports fell to $1.5 billion, but in the first two months of 2010 Rhode Island had the fourth-highest export rate on a percentage basis in the United States.
And at the Rhode Island Manufacturers Extension Service (RIMES), a state organization charged with helping manufacturers, inquiries seeking help obtaining international certification for production techniques are up 34 percent from a year ago, CEO Leslie Taito said. The certification from the International Organization for Standardization opens the door for companies to take their products to the world stage.
“I think there are a lot of times where competition has gotten pretty tough for some of these smaller companies, so instead of fighting for your piece of pie you can take it into another market,” said Taito, who will moderate a panel discussion on World Trade Day.
Taito suspects companies seeking the ISO certification – a costly and time-consuming endeavor – are setting themselves up for when the economy rebounds. ISO certification will let those companies and their products quickly head to the first parts of the global economy that show signs of recovery. That can prove critical because customers may not be down the street from the production plant or local markets may not exist. Edward Mazze, distinguished university professor of business administration at the University of Rhode Island, said World Trade Day is about opening a business executive’s eyes to, well, the world.
“It does present opportunities,” Mazze said. “A lot of times businesses tend to think their customers are in their backyard only and doing business with other countries is more of a hassle.”
But businesses that take the dive can reap big rewards.
Raymond Fogarty, the organizer of the annual Bryant gathering, said one local seafood distributor started selling to Canada and quickly found that trading outside of Rhode Island was not as painful as it thought. The company grew to $16 million in revenue from $1 million in revenue. And when trade creates local growth, that’s a good thing.
“There’s no question that it creates jobs, which is something that’s very important in Rhode Island,” Mazze said, citing the almost 13 percent unemployment rate in the state.
At Raytheon Co. a $13 billion deal with the United Arab Emirates for a missile system will help the company and in turn its local suppliers, said Daniel Ryan, vice president of operations and integrated supply chain. Ryan said Raytheon planned to manufacture 100 percent of the project in the United States, including at locations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Raytheon will also send teams of consultants to suppliers to advise them on how to compete with their foreign competitors and win supply contracts. The advice on how to cut production costs or improve efficiency will help businesses whether the end product winds up down the street or across the world. Ryan will be among the experts on hand at World Trade Day, where he will participate in a panel titled “Opportunities for American Renewal and Growth.”
Subtitled “American Growth and Renewal,” the all-day Bryant conference this year consists of eight panel discussions featuring business leaders alongside state, federal and foreign economic officials. Gov. Donald L. Carcieri is slated to address the crowd, as is R.I. Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Keith W. Stokes and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis. Also on hand will be counsels general from 15 nations.
For the across-the-world perspective, World Trade Day will feature Marantis as one of two keynote speakers. The trade representative is responsible for trade negotiations and enforcement in Asia and Africa. Joining him will be Stan Davis, an author and consultant who has written about how shifts in technology and business organization affect business strategy.
The idea behind the summit, said Fogarty, the director of the John H. Chafee Center for International Development at Bryant University in Smithfield, is that business leaders arrive, forge relationships and make a deal.
“It’s the connections for the long haul, which is what we do very well versus people just talking,” Fogarty said.
World Trade Day will be held June 16 at Bryant University. The conference costs $125 per person. More information is available at www.worldtradedayri.com. &#8226