PICK YOUR PORT

Executives of 28 Leading American Ports Sound Off On What You Should Know About Their Global Gateways

As a shipper with logistics at the forefront of your global operation, you’re familiar with our nation’s ports—to a degree. You know they’re the launch pad for your exports, and that leaving from the left of the map takes less time to Asia; from the right it’s shorter to Europe. And you probably know a good… Read More…

TARGET OF A TRADE WAR

Horton Archery Should Have Been One of the Greatest Global Success Stories Ever Told. That It Was Not Provides Us With This Cautionary Tale [By Will Swaim]

By the middle of 2009, the U.S. economy had already driven off a steep financial cliff, with the rest of the global economy screaming in the back seat.

It was perhaps an odd moment for TGV Partners, a boutique private-equity firm, to think about buying Horton Archery, a leading American manufacturer of hunting equipment swirling down the bankruptcy drain… Read More…

INTERNATIONAL ICE CREAM HEADACHE

How Bassetts Company Learned That, To Be A Global Company, You Can’t Cry Over Spilled Milk [By Steve Lowery]

Michael Strange can’t recall whether it was through an email, text or Skype session that he learned his worst fears had been realized. He is sure the news came from his customer in China James Sun, who had pushed hardest for Strange’s Philadelphia-based company, Bassetts Ice Cream, to launch its first true export program… Read More…

AMERICA’S LEADING 3PLs

There’s an article floating around the Internet that purports to give examples of questions that Google asks prospective employees—offbeat brain teasers crafted to lure the interviewee into surrendering insights into his or her thought process. One is particularly memorable: “How much would you charge to wash all the windows in Atlanta?”… Read More…

TO BAIT A SALE

PENN REELS’ INTERNATIONAL BRAND MANAGERS CATCH NEW BUYERS WITH A STEADY DIET OF HANDS-ON DEMOS [By Steve Lowery]

It’s said that if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, but if you teach that man to fish you feed him for life.

Okay, but what kind of life would that be? Fish day after day—morning, noon, night and fourth meal—until all that oily build-up’s oozing from his pores and you’ve… Read More…

POLARIS IS BLAZING NEW TRAILS FOR EXPORTS

CEO Scott Wine leads the charge through employee swaps and global guerrilla marketing [By William Lobdell]

Nestled on the bluffs of the St. Croix River in Wisconsin, Osceola’s main attraction is a quaint downtown with historic brick buildings dating to the 1880s and a 25-foot waterfall. The town of 2,568 has one… Read More…

HEARTS & MINDS & BEHINDS

Emeco almost closed its doors, and then discovered its classic U.S. Navy chair is huge with hipsters around the globe. [By William Lobdell]

The best way to make a big splash in the global furniture market, Gregg Buchbinder realized, was to go big at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the industry’s premiere annual trade show in Milan… Read More…