Ceilings Plus Named Ex-Im Bank Small Business Exporter of the Year
April 9, 2012
(Ex-Im Bank)
Growing Export Sales Helps California Company
Add More Than 70 Jobs
Washington, D.C. – Ceilings Plus, a California
small business manufacturer and installer of
high-quality aluminum and wood ceilings and
wall panels, will receive the Small Business
Exporter of the Year award from the
Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im
Bank). The award will be presented at the
Bank's 37th Annual Conference, "Ex-Im –Your
Competitive Edge," on April 12 in Washington,
D.C
In cooperation with Bank of the West as the
guaranteed lender, Ceilings Plus has been using
Ex-Im Bank's working capital loan guarantee
since 2007. The company, which now exports to 5
countries, recorded $30 million in sales this
year and created 73 American new manufacturing
jobs.
"Ceilings Plus is a great example of a small
business that has been extremely successful in
the international marketplace," said Fred P.
Hochberg, chairman and president of the
Export-Import Bank of the United States. "With
95% of the world’s customers outside the United
States, it is critical that we encourage our
small business owners to sell more products to
more customers in more countries."
"Thanks to Ex-Im Bank, more than 50% of our
business now comes from exports and we have
created 73 new jobs," said Nancy Mercolino,
president of Ceilings Plus. "Exports have
increased our bottom line, and I am looking
forward to reaching more international
markets."
In Fiscal Year 2011, Ex-Im Bank authorized
nearly $400 million in financing for California
small businesses, making it one of the leading
states in the country for Ex-Im small business
financing. Over the past three years, the
Bank's small business financing has increased
by more than 70 percent, from $3.3 billion in
FY 2008 to $6 billion in FY 2011, and it is up
$1 billion from last year.
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