RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced that 11 companies across the Commonwealth have graduated from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s (VEDP) Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program and 13 companies have joined the two-year program. VALET, which now has 375 graduated companies, assists Virginia exporters that have firmly established domestic operations and are committed to international exporting as a growth strategy.

“International trade is a key component of advancing economic growth and prosperity in Virginia, and the VALET program is a vehicle that provides the tools and resources for our existing businesses to expand into the global marketplace,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “We congratulate these Virginia companies on taking proactive steps to grow international sales and look forward to their future success.”

“For more than 20 years, VALET has helped 375 Virginia companies successfully navigate international exporting,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick. “This award-winning program is a tremendous asset to the Commonwealth’s economic development tool kit and provides long-term benefits to the new and graduating companies that represent a range of diverse industries and regions across Virginia.”

The graduating companies are:

  • BIO-CAT, Inc. (Louisa County)
  •  Butler Parachute Systems, Inc. (City of Roanoke)
  • Cadence, Inc. (City of Staunton)
  • CHEMetrics (Fauquier County)
  • eKare (Fairfax County)
  • ESS Technologies, Inc. (Montgomery County)
  • Flight Test Aerospace (Fairfax County)
  • Hooker Furniture, Inc. (City of Martinsville)
  • KRISS USA, Inc. (City of Chesapeake)
  • MELD Manufacturing Corporation (Montgomery County)
  • Spire Collective (Fluvanna County)

VALET is a two-year international business acceleration program that provides participating companies with international sales plan development services, assistance from a team of experienced international service providers, international business meetings with potential partners, educational events, and customized market research. There are currently 53 companies participating in the VALET program and 428 Virginia companies have been accepted to participate in the program since its inception in 2002.

The companies joining the VALET program include:

  •  Aery Aviation, LLC (City of Newport News)
  • Atlas Systems, Inc. (City of Virginia Beach)
  • Bauer Compressors, Inc. (City of Norfolk)
  • Best Medical International, Inc. (Fairfax County)
  • DeepSig, Inc. (Arlington County)
  • EIT 2.0 LLC (Loudoun County)
  • FDP Virginia, Inc. (Essex County)
  • Fenix Group, Inc. (Fairfax County)
  • Icarus Medical LLC (City of Charlottesville)
  • Sentry Products Group (City of Virginia Beach)
  • Simmons Equipment Company (Tazewell County)
  • Solid Stone Fabrics (Henry County)
  • Uttermost (Franklin County)

“Virginia companies successfully expanding in overseas markets directly benefits the Commonwealth’s economy, and we are proud of the world-class International Trade team that leads VALET,” said Jason El Koubi, VEDP President and CEO. “We are excited to see the global reach these Virginia businesses will achieve as a result of their time in the program.”

Virginia exports over $51 billion in goods and services annually. Exports of the Commonwealth’s products and services are critical to economic growth, supporting more than 257,000 jobs and generating $2 billion in annual tax revenue. VEDP offers numerous programs to assist Virginia companies with selling into the global marketplace and has a network of international market research consultants covering 122 countries around the globe.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1995 to encourage, stimulate, and support the development and expansion of the economy of the Commonwealth. To accomplish its objectives of promoting economic expansion within the Commonwealth, the Partnership focuses its efforts on business recruitment, expansion, and international trade development. More information on the VALET Program is available here.

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Nicole Hansen