Success Stories
Guillén International
Guillén International is an international consulting company based in San Antonio, Texas that specializes in providing international marketing and logistics services. For the last twenty years, the owner Lorena Guillén has been helping small businesses succeed in global markets. With a philosophy of excellence and quality, this Texas-based firm is one of a kind.
GreenStar
Founded in 2009, GreenStar is an innovative USA-based company designing, manufacturing, and distributing highly advanced, eco-friendly, and cost-saving light emitting diode (LED) lighting systems to municipalities and commercial businesses around the world.
USATEQ
In 2009, Carlos Silva saw an opportunity to sell used heavy equipment to the construction and mining sectors in Latin America, particularly to companies in his native Colombia. His experience on dealerships and international trade as well as the growing demand generated by major investments to develop the construction, mining, oil and gas industries in several Latin American countries, especially those that fairly quickly recovered after the 2008 global recession, helped identified the business potential for used equipment.
Bespoke Group LLC
Bespoke Group LLC, based in Irving, Texas, is a leading exporter of high quality dried pulses, or legumes, such as dried lentils, peas, and chickpeas. The annual global trade of pulses is a $3 billion industry.
The United States is the second largest exporter of dried peas and third for dried lentils and accounts for about 15 percent of global exports.
Bespoke was established in 2004 with an initial focus on the Indian market, the world’s largest importer of dried lentils and peas. While India remains a major focus, Bespoke now exports to a network of buyers in more than 35 countries.
As commodities, pulses are very price sensitive, but the company has nonetheless developed strong, long-term relationships as a quality shipper to its customers world-wide. Other major markets for Bespoke include the United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, South America and Russia, but the company has customers in every continent.
E&G Coatings
The United States dumps more than 300 million scrap tires a year. These tires collect stagnant water, breeding disease-spreading mosquitoes and attracting vermin such as rats. When set ablaze, dumped tires are additionally devastating to the environment. E&G Coatings addresses this problem with its TIRE2COAT © energy-saving roof coating made from recycled tires. The product, used in San Antonio and Austin, is extending its reach throughout Latin America with the help of the International Trade Center.
José Alejandro DeFlores, LLC Success Story
VOS was founded to answer a simple question: Can people afford to care?
VOS believes most people have a genuine desire to help others and the planet, but unfortunately the majority of these people don’t have the time or resources to have a significant impact on their own. Through their eco-friendly sandal and their Two Steps At A Time™ social initiative, VOS offers everyone the possibility to help others, keep the planet clean and they do it without asking people to spend more than what they usually spend.
Kiolbassa Provision Company
Kiolbassa Provision Company was founded on San Antonio's Westside in 1949 with the idea of making the best tasting smoked sausage possible. When Rufus and Juanita Kiolbassa opened their small meat-packing company, the two probably could not have imagined it would eventually produced the No. 1 selling premium sausage in Texas. Nor could they have dreamed that consumer demand would lead to their namesake being sold in grocery stores throughout Texas, available on military installations, touted in national magazines, and heralded nationally on television's Food Network! A sneak-peak into the future would have also shown that in 2004, grandson Michael Kiolbassa would become a third-generation owner honored by the SBA San Antonio District Small Business Person of the Year.
The Transtec Group, Inc.
The Transtec Group is an Austin-based civil engineering company specializing in pavement engineering. Since 2001, this twenty person company has become an award winning leader in its fields by providing practical innovative solutions for street, highway, bridge, airport and seaport construction. International projects are a vital part of Transtec's business.
Battery Concepts International
Battery Concepts International (BCI) is a San Antonio-based company engaged in the sale, service, and installation of industrial batteries. Its success in exporting industrial batteries for fork lift trucks and stationary power resulted in the company being recognized as the SBA Small Business Exporter of the Year in 2008.
Founded in 1998, the company has a branch office in San Antonio, El Paso and Edinburg and includes Texas and New Mexico as its primary U.S. service area. It is an authorized distributor for Hawker and Douglas for motive power batteries and for Douglas Battery for stationary power, all of whom are industry-leaders. The company's focus on fork lift dealers is based on a high level of service, reliability, and competitive pricing that has allowed BCI customers to go after business that they might not otherwise be able to pursue. The company has developed a strong network of fork lift dealers and works closely with them to help grow their businesses.
Rainbow Play Systems International
Since 2001, the International Trade Center has been closely working with Rainbow Play Systems International of San Antonio in growing their global sales. Rainbow Play Systems manufactures the finest residential playground equipment in America. By providing cutting-edge market research and consulting assistance, Sr. International Business Consultant, Monica Alcoz, has assisted Rainbow in rapidly growing their sales of wooden playground sets to North and South America, Western and Eastern Europe, as well as Asia.
Austinuts
Founded in 1993, Austinuts is an Austin-based company specializing in processing fresh nuts into dry roasted gourmet nuts.  Austinuts began as a retail outlet in the Texas capital City and the company has since expanded into the wholesale sector, selling to a multitude of customers such as convenience stores, gift shops and national grocery store chains.
Austinuts prides itself for utilizing a centuries-old roasting method, where no oils, additives nor preservatives are added, yielding more natural flavored, better tasting and crunchier roasted nuts than the regular oil-roasted kind commonly produced in North America.
2012 Annual Report
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