Event details:
5:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Columbia Room, Columbia Tower Club
701 5th Avenue, Seattle
SEATTLE, WA
On March 16, 2010, Governor Christine Gregoire will recognize the winners of the 2010 Governor's Trader and Emerging Trader of the Year Awards and discuss the importance of Washington’s international trade activities. The awards will be presented at a reception held at the Columbia Tower Club in coordination with the Washington State Department of Commerce’s TRADE WEEK.
The World Trade Club annually presents the Governor's Trader of the Year and Emerging Trader of the Year Awards to a firm or individual that has demonstrated outstanding achievements in international trade. In 1996, Governor Lowry honored the World Trade Club and acknowledged the importance of international trade to our State by lending the name of his office to the award. In 1998, in order to recognize smaller businesses, the World Trade Club added a second award, the Governor's Emerging Trade of the Year, recognizing a firm or individual having a more recent entry into Washington’s international trade arena.
Applications and/or nominations for the awards are taken each winter, and judged by an independent selection committee, which reviews all applications and selects the winners. The committee changes every year, and is generally comprised of representatives from our state's bilateral trade organizations, members of the public and private sector, and other trade leaders. World Trade Club board members facilitate the meeting and may observe, but do not vote.
Last year, a group of 150 local and state government officials, business, logistics, finance and banking professionals were in attendance at the ShoWare Center in Kent, WA, to congratulate the two winners, MulvannyG2 Architecture (Trader of the Year) and Sonosite, Inc. (Emerging Trader of the Year).
"MulvannyG2 is honored to receive this award and to be part of Washington State’s long list of innovative companies. We commend the World Trade Club’s dedication to helping grow our state through international trade. Without organizations like the World Trade Club and the Washington State Department of Commerce we could not have become an internationally recognized architecture firm," said Mitch Smith and Ming Zhang, Senior Partners of MulvannyG2.
SEATTLE, WA
Athena Marketing International (AMI), a leading export marketing and consulting firm serving the food, beverage, and agricultural industries, has added a comprehensive set of foreign language printing tools. These printing services will further strengthen AMI’s value added offering in international marketing and business development.
Peter Guyer, AMI President, states, “Adding foreign language print services to our international marketing capabilities is a natural progression to our already broad range of services. Today’s print technology allows us to effectively and affordably present our client’s product in multiple languages quickly and efficiently, which until recently, was not feasible.”
AMI’s services now include the ability to accomplish a host of customized, targeted and even personalized print services. The value proposition to AMI clients is:
- Quickly determine the most effective packaging design that complies with a given foreign market’s local packaging regulations.
- Realize a more affordable “cost of entry” by producing short run packaging specific to the target foreign markets.
- Produce foreign language POP materials, training manuals, newsletters and distributor kits in useable “on-demand” quantities.
- Exploit “one-to-one marketing” and ad campaigns in local languages targeted at a specific foreign demographic.
- Ensure brand integrity by managing print production and printed assets through a single source.
Having AMI generate foreign language packaging avoids costly mistakes and misprints and the overproduction of materials.
YUBA CITY, CA & SEATTLE, WA
Athena Marketing International (AMI), a leading export marketing, business development and consulting firm serving the food, beverage, and agricultural industries, has been hired by Taylor Brothers Farms to market and sell its products in Asia and the Middle East.
Taylor Brothers Farms is a third-generation family business specializing in growing natural products, particularly dried plums (prunes), peaches, almonds and walnuts. The company has built long-term business relationships in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and is a worldwide market leader in dried fruit and fruit concentrate, puree, and powder. Taylor Brothers Farms has manufacturing facilities in Sutter Country, California and Grudziadz, Poland. The company’s state-of-the-art European plant was built in 2005 for efficient and profitable distribution throughout Europe and Russia.
“We are thrilled to be working with Taylor Brothers Farms, a pillar of the global fruit industry,” said Peter Guyer, AMI President. “Taylor Brothers Farms has an outstanding reputation for high quality, consistent and excellent tasting products. We believe there is high demand for the company’s products in rapidly growing international markets. Our goal is to convert this demand into profitable sales for Taylor Brothers Farms.”
Richard Taylor, President of Taylor Brothers Farms, stated: “The international markets are important to our company’s growth plans. We intend to be the leading supplier of dried plums worldwide, and we needed a partner to help us achieve our global objectives. We believe AMI is the best company to grow our business in Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East.”
AMI markets and sells U.S. food & beverage manufacturer’s products to a network of international importers, distributors, retailers and other buyers. AMI’s services allow U.S. food & beverage manufacturers to reduce costs, improve profitability and achieve a higher success rate selling their products in global markets. AMI develops its clients’ brands globally by conducting strategic business planning, increasing sales, meeting the needs of international buyers, and conforming to local import regulations.
Athena Marketing International (AMI), a leading export marketing, business development and consulting firm serving the food, beverage, and related products industries, announced today the appointment of long time Seattle executive Kyle Diercks to the position of partner and Chief Operating Officer.
In his new role Mr. Diercks will help guide the consulting firm’s growth and support their global client base. Mr. Diercks will have accountability for managing all aspects of AMI’s operations, including new business development, client relationship management, financial accounting, budget achievement, strategic planning, international customer development, media, marketing, and public relations. “It is truly an honor to be a part of such a leader in its industry as AMI” said Mr. Diercks. “I have admired their work and company founder Peter Guyer’s true commitment to the needs of his clients and AMI’s efforts to expand their brands internationally.”
September 28 – October 2, 2008
Alex Lindsay participated in the Food Export USA sponsored “Bakery Ingredients & Processed Fruits” Trade Mission to Taiwan. Alex gave a presentation on Decas Cranberry Products to major baking industry principles and met with key distributors and importers on the island.
Athena Marketing International announced the appointment of Diane Fisch as Vice President, Business Development. Ms. Fisch will be responsible for new business development, media, customer relationship marketing, and public relations. Her focus will be to drive the identification of additional growth opportunities and strategic initiatives, as well as to improve execution and productivity at all levels within AMI to transcend industry benchmarks.
Ms. Fisch has an extensive background in sales and business development beginning her career in institutional food sales. Here she represented brands such as Tropicana, Tyson Seafood, Kronos Greek Food Products and Martinellis, selling into multiple channels including distributors, government, wholesalers and education.
Prior to joining AMI, she served as VP of Business Development at Mind Opera, a multi-media design firm and as an Account Manager at Dun and Bradstreet (D&B), a global provider of business information. While at D&B, she earned the prestigious Winners Circle Award three consecutive years for outstanding sales and customer satisfaction.
Ms. Fisch holds a B.A. in Business from Seattle Pacific University and a certificate in Global Business Management from the University of Washington. Diane brings to AMI her talent for building lasting prosperous relationships and a commitment to global citizenship and cross-cultural understanding.
One of AMI’s newest clients, Biosea Corporation, is a manufacturer and marketer of organic energy drinks and nutraceutical products. It is an emerging company and beginning to gain distribution in leading retailers such as Whole Foods, Costco, and Organic-To-Go. Biosea Corp. is currently in the midst of a Series B Round offering of $2 million and continues to seek investors.
Peter Guyer, President of AMI and Board Member of Biosea Corporation, entered into the competition for “Best Business Plan” among over 65 Pacific Northwest companies. All competing companies underwent a thorough selection process, and finalists received professional coaching from leading investors. Biosea become a finalist in the ZZIF investment forum, in which 28 companies competed for $150,000. Although Biosea was not selected as the winner, Guyer commented after the event, “We received excellent feedback from investors and the media, which has allowed Biosea to accelerate it’s growth plans as a result.”
Mr. Mike Johanns, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, has appointed Peter Guyer, President of Athena Marketing International, as a member of the Advisory Committee on Emerging Markets.
The USDA Advisory Committee is mandated by the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act as amended. It consists of representatives from a cross-section of the U.S. food industry who provide information and advice to help the USDA in developing strategies for providing technical assistance and enhancing foreign markets for U.S. food, beverage and agricultural products in developing market economies.
July 12th, 2005
AMI Marketing Manager Briony Nguyen was recently named to American Food&Ag Exporter's list of Top 40 Exporters Under 40:
Making the extra effort in communication with overseas clients sets Nguyen apart. Her work involves communicating with distributors and customers around the world on behalf of U.S. food and beverage companies a task requiring empathy diplomacy and a passion for establishing cross-cultural connections.
“I make an effort to learn about the business practices in various countries and include greetings and phrases in my correspondent's native language as often as possible in my written conmltlnication” she reports. “This level of care enthusiasm and attention to detail has helped to facilitate strong relationships across national boundaries.”
Nguyen is continually inspired by the effort and care her clients put into the creation development and production of their specialty food and beverage products. “Their commitment to quality and innovation is truly admirable. It's a unique challenge to locate the right distributors for our clients in various country markets and exceptionally rewarding when we make a good match. I enjoy finding ways to make our innovative products available to interested and enthusiastic consumers around the world.”
Her goals involve growing her clients' global business with integrity and in accordance with their values and principles. She strives to seek out and communicate with like-minded international distributors in order to forge partnerships enabling product launches in many more countries across the globe.
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