The View from 30 Feet
by Brittany Willes
Plastics Business
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker; Dymotek Chief Technology Officer Victor Morando; Dymotek CEO Normand Forest; Arun M. Kumar, Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service and Assistant Secretary for Global Markets, US Department of Commerce; and Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT).
Business gurus often talk about the view from 30,000 feet – the big picture that provides a look at overall operations. Perhaps, however, the focus should be on the view from 30 feet – a close-up of specific processes and procedures that make an impact now.
American Export Expertise Leads to Presidential Award
Dymotek Corporation, Ellington, Connecticut, is an injection molding provider of precision parts to the defense, aviation, aerospace, medical, electronics, automotive and industrial/consumer goods industries. While the company has an extensive reach into so many markets, Dymotek also reaches more than 35 countries by exporting its molded goods.
That export expertise led to a special honor for Dymotek during the summer of 2015 as the company was one of 26 awarded the President’s “E” Award for demonstrating a sustained increase of export sales over a four-year period. Established by Executive Order of the President in 1961, every year the President’s “E” Award acknowledges those companies which strive to increase American exports, create jobs and continue building export markets.
According to a US Department of Commerce press release, US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker honored 45 American companies and organizations. “Today’s awardees have made substantial contributions to increasing US exports, which are critical to spurring economic growth and job creation,” she said. “Exports continue to be a driver of our economy, supporting more than 11.7 million jobs in cities and communities across the country. Furthermore, these exporters are examples of the historic progress in our export growth. In 2014, US exports hit an all-time high of $2.34 trillion, accounting for 13.4 percent of GDP. By exporting more Made-in-America goods and services, US businesses are growing faster, hiring more workers and paying better wages.”
Dymotek has established and maintained strong partnerships with regional suppliers, and CEO Norm Forest pointed to those relationships as critical to the company’s understanding of export requirements. Forest advised companies to “reach out to your regional export assistant centers. They offer training on what documents and information is required in global logistics.” By nurturing those regional relationships, Forest and Dymotek have come a long way over the years. “I remember years ago, we struggled with getting products from here to there because it was very different from what we were used to,” Forest stated. “Through hard work we now have become experts in the arena. There are a lot of programs out there to help international commerce, so take advantage. Reach out to your strong partners in your regions to put forward a partnership of strength from which you can execute on your supply of products.”
As part of the company’s efforts to build strong partnerships and strong communities, Dymotek has gone a step further by exporting knowledge and experience into local classrooms. Three years ago, Dymotek began supporting the Manufacturing Technology Program at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Connecticut. Since then the approach has cloned to other community colleges in Connecticut. The purpose of the program is to provide younger students with industry training and experience. As part of the program, the candidate takes pertinent classes for the first semester and then works a couple of days a week through the second semester.
According to Forest, the program has proven highly beneficial. “Our first student was a huge success,” he said, excelling within the program to the point of venturing to Europe for extended training. With such positive results, “it was an easy decision to continue, and the very next candidate has blossomed into a junior quality engineer.”
In addition to fulfilling Dymotek’s directive of reaching out to the community, involvement with the Manufacturing Technology Program neatly fits into the President’s “E” Award standard for creating jobs within the market, further benefiting Dymotek. “The strength is we get a candidate that has been given the foundation of the technical basics in the field, including the importance of responsibility,” Forest stated. “The output from the college has been so successful that we now participate as a sponsor even if we don’t have a role available in our company as a way to give back.”
Combining a global market strategy with a strong commitment to its local community, Dymotek has established itself as a leader in regional economic development. US Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), who presented the award, congratulated “the Dymotek team for its outstanding work to build strong overseas markets and their commitment to our region. Increasing exports is critical to the economic recovery, and these awards recognize companies paving the way for a growing export strategy.”
According to Forest, it was “an absolute honor to participate in the ceremonies in Washington, D.C. The recognition is positive for manufacturing in the US, as well as the Northeast. We are able to execute ‘world-class customer experiences’ through strong partnerships with local suppliers to our region in Connecticut.”