Los Angeles, California, July31—Exports are big business for small and mid-sized California companies. That was the message from Commerce Department Assistant Secretary and Director General Maria Cino, who today presented local company WET Design with the U.S. Commercial Service’s Export Achievement Certificate. The award recognizes companies that are business clients of the Commerce Department’s U.S. Commercial Service, and that have used their services to make their first export sale or open few foreign markets.

“Most jobs in America are created by small companies. Small and mid-sized companies like WET Design comprise almost 97 percent of U.S. exporters,” said Maria Cino.

WET Design specializes in the design of water features worldwide. The company’s designs can be seen in venues such as the Bellagio, Tokyo Dome, and their latest project--the Cauldron featured at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games.

WET Design turned to the U.S. Commercial Service for assistance in recovering a past-due payment from a customer in the United Arab Emirates. The company had installed a water feature at the main entrance of a multi-million dollar shopping mall in the UAE, but contacted the U.S. Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi when did not receive the payment due upon completion of the project. Commercial Specialist Alex Khochafian in Abu Dhabi introduced the company to local trade specialist Amy Magat at the Los Angeles U.S. Export Assistance Center. As a result of the mediation provided by the U.S. Commercial Service, WET Design was able to recover the payment of $37,500.

The U.S. Commercial Service is a Commerce Department agency that helps small and medium-sized U.S. businesses sell their products and services globally. The U.S. Commercial Service’s network includes 108 U.S. Export Assistance Centers throughout the United States and more than 150 international offices. In 2001, the U.S. Commercial Service helped U.S. businesses generate export sales worth more than $34 billion.