> Colorado Case Company, a leader in the musical instrument case industry, was recently awarded a grant from the Colorado International Trade Office (ITO). The Colorado Export Development Grant aims to assist companies with less than 50 employees develop export sales in new markets. A total of 38 businesses applied for the grant statewide. Colorado Case Company was one of 17 to receive the seed money.
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> Colorado Case Company will use the grant to break into the United Kingdom market. “We proposed the UK because, for one thing, it’s an English-speaking country. So that helps,” laughs Colorado Case Company president Steve Simmons. “But really, it’s because the music industry shares a lot of commonality [with the U.S. market]. We thought we could create good leverage for our products with our existing connections.”
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> Colorado Case Company has made several contacts with UK dealers in the past year. Winning the Export Development Grant will help the company finance a trip to Britain to solidify relationships and generate sales. “Now we’ll be able to show them the products first-hand, which will make selling them much easier,” says Simmons. “We’re going to set up advance meetings with as many people as we can.”
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> This was the first year the Colorado ITO offered the grants. Amy Reichart, the office’s director of trade and investments for the Americas, says the program matches well with the organization’s objectives. “We took a look at how we could most benefit Colorado companies with the money we had remaining in this fiscal year,” she explains. “And we thought [the Export Development Grant program] was the best way we could directly impact our small- and medium-sized companies.”
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> Colorado Case Company’s application was successful because the company met the grant’s qualifications so well, says Reichart. “It was a good fit between its niche market here and the United Kingdom’s market potential,” she recalls.
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> The Colorado ITO plans to award the grants biannually in the future, and Colorado Case Company hopes to be on the winner’s list again in the fall to fund a UK trade show appearance. “These grants are a great thing for a small company in Colorado with a unique product,” says Simmons.
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> Colorado Case Company is an internationally known, locally owned business. Since 1993, the company has crafted professional grade products – soft, hard, rigid and flight cases, gig bags and case covers – for all types of musical instruments in its Fort Collins, Colo., facility. Colorado Case Company products are used and recognized by professional musicians around the world for their superior workmanship and design, which protect instruments from wear, tear and extreme weather. The company also manufactures under the brand names Cavallaro and Small Dog. For more information about Colorado Case Company, visit www.coloradocase.com or call (800) 340-0809.
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