In 1985 in the tiny downtown office of the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center, seven local business leaders hunkered down for the day to discuss how to address the growing international trade market. They asked: Are there experts in Rhode Island? Won’t others want to know what those experts know? How should we present their ideas and knowledge to benefit other Rhode Island businesses?
Raymond W. Fogarty was there, just a few years removed from his undergraduate studies. The gathering that came out of that meeting was “more of a seminar than an event,” with few panelists and attendees. Many Rhode Island companies weren’t all that interested in international trade at that time, Fogarty explained recently.
“They would say that they’re domestic market is so strong. They’d say, ‘We haven’t saturated that, so why look at international trade?’ ” he said.
How things have changed, both in the general business attitude toward global trade and with what has become an annual event at Bryant University known as World Trade Day.
“There isn’t a company out there now that doesn’t have a presence on the World Wide Web, making them visible,” said Fogarty, director of Bryant’s John H. Chafee Center for International Business. “Ninety-five percent of the population of the world is outside the U.S.”
Topics discussed at World Trade Day have slowly changed from questions on “how to start out in international trade” to technical queries about supply chains, the best way to market and what types of insurance are best, Fogarty said.
And the attendance has grown steadily over the years. “I think in that first year we were hoping to get 50 people and we got 75,” Fogarty said. For the next few years, it stayed at about the same level. Then, after forming a partnership with the state and its World Trade Center Rhode Island, the conference grew in 1992 to about 300 attendees.
“And since then, we’ve only grown,” Fogarty said. “For the last five to seven years, we’ve exceeded 500. I’d say that makes us one of the larger [World Trade Day events] in the country.”
He added that the recession might keep some companies away this year, but there should be more than 400 attendees. The conference costs $125 per person. The $100,000 cost of the event is covered by attendance fees and in-kind services from Bryant, Fogarty said.
“The way we look at it is that we bring companies in to create relationships,” Fogarty said. “And they do – some have lasted over 20 years. They find their niche.”
This year’s May 21 event, with about 30 speakers, carries the title: “The Power of Trade: Strategies for growth in the global economy.”
“We picked that topic because we knew business was going to be tough this year, even though Rhode Island last year had a 20 percent increase in the number of exports and the country was up 10 percent,” Fogarty said. “This year, if you have had difficulties, you’re going to be telling how you survived even in the face of major economic and global concerns.”
About 20 countries will be represented in the 30-booth expo and pavilion that’s set up for the day.
This year’s panelists include Finance Comerica Bank Vice President of International Trade Lisa Sasaki, the U.S. Small Business Administration Export Finance Manager John Joyce and LoJack Corporation Vice President of International Craig Armstrong.
Interface Inc. founder and Chairman Ray C. Anderson will give a keynote address about being a “born-again environmentalist” and running a sustainable company.
In the other keynote, Laurent Vernerey, president and CEO of APC by Schneider Electric, will share some of the best practices he’s picked up during his 20-plus years working in international companies.
The French native will give an address about leadership and trade in tough economic times.
“I believe that if my experience of 20 years, all around the world, can be of some help and can give some pointers to some people around here, I’ll be happy,” said Vernerey from his South Kingstown office last week. He agreed to speak at World Trade Day because it is one of the largest international trade venues in the Ocean State.
Since he came to Rhode Island in 2007 – when Schneider Electric purchased American Power Conversion Corp. – Vernerey said he’s sought to increase the company’s local ties. Attending the conference is a continuation of that and allows him to share his expertise.
“I’ve lived world trade, and I’ve been in the center of it,” he said of his credentials as a keynote speaker. “Very modestly, I’m coming to share that experience.”
Rhode Island-based panelists include: J.F. Moran Customs Compliance Manager Joseph Kenny, on the “Optimizing Your Global Supply Chain” panel; Videology Imaging Solutions Inc. President and CEO Carol Ethier and Ximedica LLC co-founder and CEO Stephen Lane are set to discuss “Industry-based Strategies for International Growth.” Lane’s focus will be on how international trade opportunities have influenced the development of medical devices.
“For example, developing platforms of products where derivatives can be tailored to different populations around the world,” he said. “So instead of an international, global medical device company putting all [its] eggs into one market, it’s influencing the way we may develop new medical devices, systems or technologies.”
Ximedica provides services for many international businesses, but Lane said his company is not directly involved with international trade.
“We’re not a trading company, we’re a service provider,” Lane said. “So we ask: Are we interested in the forces that are influencing our customers? Yes. Does this forum offer some insight into the issues that our customers are dealing with? Yes.” •
