WTC Utah Awards 38 STEP Grants to Utah Companies
Salt Lake City – World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah) recently awarded funding to 38 Utah companies as part of the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP). STEP is managed by WTC Utah and funded in part through a grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“The STEP Grant received a record number of applicants this year, making it the most competitive process to date,” said Derek B. Miller, president and CEO of WTC Utah. “We look forward to seeing how these companies grow internationally as a result of this funding.”
STEP grants are cost reimbursement grants designed to help increase the number of small businesses that are exporting and help exporting companies grow. The grantees will use funding from the STEP Grant to participate in state-led trade shows and trade missions or to obtain export-related services like translation or website upgrades.
Grant applications were reviewed by a selection committee comprised of representatives from both the private and public sector. Businesses receiving awards are located in both rural and urban areas.
The following Utah companies received a STEP Grant:
Applied Composite Technology Aerospace, Inc. (ACTA)
Beehive Distilling
BelaNature Organics
BEST Police Training, LLC
BlueTree Farms
Buzz Graphics
Cath-Tip, Inc.
CommGap International Language Services
D-tect Systems
Dark Energy
Design Criteria, Inc.
DPS Skis
Global Uprising PBC dba Cotopaxi
GlobalSim, Inc.
Haight Bey & Associates
InnoSys, Inc.
Innovasis
Insta-Fire Inc.
International Vibration Technology
M-Vac Systems
Maxtec
Mercury Bikes, LLC
MerkWares LLC
National Vinyl Products
Navitus Sustainable Industries
Optimum Composite Technologies, LLC
Purple Innovations
Rainbow Sign & Design Inc. DBA Decorworx
Reef Life Restoration/Vicon Nano Science
Spire Ranges
Summit Medical Products, Inc.
SyberJet Aircraft
TCR Composites
The Blueberry Hill
TruClinic
Vitalpax, Inc.
Wildland Forestry
Wyoming Test Fixtures, Inc.
The State Trade Expansion Program is in its sixth year, but this is the first year WTC Utah is managing the grant through a contract with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. The application period for the STEP Grant is closed for FY2018, but companies interested in applying for WTC Utah grants in the future can visit www.wtcutah.com for deadline updates.
About World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah)
The mission of World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah) is to help Utah companies think, act and succeed globally. WTC Utah accomplishes this mission through three key objectives. First is to motivate and educate Utah businesses to expand their global presence through training seminars, regional forums and newsletters focused on international business development, trade issues and export opportunities. Second is to build capacity of Utah businesses for international trade through B2B consultations to identify expansion goals, assess current capabilities, determine overseas opportunities and connect companies with market experts and potential partners. Third is to expand global network of Utah businesses through trade missions and networking with foreign trade officials.
