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Texas Small Business Expands Sales Overseas With EXIM Bank's Insurance Policy

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Created on August 15, 2016
 

Gabriel Ojeda runs a small concrete additive business called Fritz-Pak out of a modest warehouse just east of Dallas with his wife and son. They manufacture 40 different specialty products, including plasters you’d find in swimming pools or sports stadiums. Sales were steady—until the 2008 recession hit. Gabriel had to lay off three of his 14 employees, and was nearly forced to sell off the business. When Gabriel’s family came up with the idea of pursuing sales in global markets, they sought out private financing—but when a typical export sale is only 10 or 12 thousand dollars, a local bank isn’t always interested in financing. So when private financing proved unavailable, the company turned to the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) for a reliable insurance package to protect their overseas sales. 

In 2011, EXIM Bank approved a $200,000 insurance policy which helped Fritz-Pak expand to Russia, Taiwan, China, and South Africa. With EXIM’s insurance the Ojedas were able to offer their new foreign buyers credit terms while protecting against the risk of not being paid.

Thanks to EXIM, exports now account for about 35 percent of their business—and that export growth allowed Gabriel to rehire those three laid-off employees.

Fritz-Pak proudly displays Made in the USA on every box it delivers.

“We may be small, but we think big. In an age where everything seems to be made someplace else, we’re thriving here in Texas.  Our success is due to hard work, attention to customers’ needs and belief in the future. Yet there’s no doubt this success is also in no small part due to the services provided by EXIM Bank,” said Fritz-Pak President Gabriel Ojeda.

Small business exporters can learn how EXIM products can empower them to increase foreign sales by clicking here or visiting the homepage at www.exim.gov.

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