Maryland represents one-third of the United States’ presence at the defense tradeshow
BALTIMORE, MD (September 15, 2016) – The Maryland Department of Commerce is leading a delegation of companies this week to Africa Aerospace & Defense 2016, the largest exhibition of its kind on the African continent, held September 14-18 in Gauteng, South Africa. The Maryland delegation is comprised of eight companies, making it the largest state presence in the U.S. International Pavilion, which has a total of 30 exhibitors from 12 states. This marks the first time that the state has led a delegation to this trade show, which attracts more than 30,000 attendees from around the world.
“Attending the Africa Aerospace & Defense show gives Maryland a prime opportunity to connect with the decision makers of many of the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies to promote our state’s unparalleled assets and strategic location as a gateway to the U.S. market,” said Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill. “Thanks to our ExportMD program, our delegation includes eight top-notch Maryland companies who will be in a unique position to market their products and services to new global customers.”
The companies exhibiting at the show include Ausley Associates (Lexington Park); AVID Technical Services (Baltimore City); Encore Solutions, Inc. (Rockville); Land Sea Air Autonomy (Westminster); Mesmo, Inc. (Waldorf); OCR Services, Inc. (Rockville); TerraView 360 (Lexington Park); and WGS Systems (Frederick). Each of companies in the Maryland delegation received funding through Commerce’s ExportMD program to travel to South Africa for the show.
Throughout the week, Maryland Commerce and the delegation will promote the state’s assets and aerospace and defense advantages at its booth located at Hangar 3, 3W13. Montgomery County’s Encore Solutions and OCR Services, as well as Ausley Associates from St. Mary’s County, have been selected to give presentations on global security, trade compliance, and multi-domain awareness during U.S. pavilion’s Ask America Forum.
Click here for the pavilion’s official schedule of events.
The department also announced this week that 13 small and mid-sized Maryland companies have been awarded ExportMD grants to help promote their products and services in the global marketplace. Applications are accepted on a bi-monthly basis and the next application deadline is October 1, 2016. Eligibility requirements can be found on
the Commerce website.
Established in 1999, the ExportMD program provides matching grants from $5,000 to $10,000 as well as up to 40 hours of marketing consulting from Commerce’s Office of International Investment and Trade. ExportMD is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, which awarded a $518,413 State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) grant to Maryland Commerce last year to help fund the program.
September 2016 ExportMD grant recipients
Allegany County
Corbin Clinical Resources
Anne Arundel County
Cipher Systems
Baltimore City
Maritime Applied Physics Corporation
Noxilizer Inc.
Baltimore County
Brimrose Corporation of America
Montgomery County
ClickMedix
E3 International
LKC Technologies, Inc.
Shafa Invesco
Targeted Microwave Solutions
Tetracore
Prince George’s County
Estime Enterprises Inc.
Queen Anne’s County
Miltec
Maryland’s Office of International Investment and Trade works to stimulate foreign direct investment in the State, offers export assistance, and coordinates international trade and investment missions and trade show opportunities for Maryland companies. The state has 11 foreign trade offices, including Canada (Montreal), China (Shanghai), Taiwan (Taipei), South Korea (Seoul), Africa (Nigeria), Mexico (Mexico City), Brazil (Sao Paulo), France (Paris), Israel (Tel Aviv), India (Delhi), and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).
About Maryland Commerce
The Maryland Department of Commerce stimulates private investment and creates jobs by attracting new businesses, encouraging the expansion and retention of existing companies, and providing financial assistance to Maryland companies. The Department promotes the State's many economic advantages and markets local products and services at home and abroad to spur economic development and international investment, trade and tourism. Because they are major economic generators, the Department also supports the Arts, film production, sports and other special events. For more information, visit
commerce.maryland.gov.
