U.S. Small Business Administration
NEWS RELEASE
Iowa District Office, 210 Walnut, Room 749, Des Moines, Iowa 50309 (515) 284-4522
(DES MOINES, Iowa) – The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Cemen Tech. in Indianola, Iowa as its 2016 Iowa Small Business Exporter of the Year.
“The SBA is honored to recognize Cemen Tech and its President and CEO, Connor Deering, as the 2016 Iowa Small Business Exporter of the Year,” said Jayne Armstrong, district director of the SBA’s Iowa District Office. “Cemen Tech is a great example of a small business that had the vision to expand its international client base while contributing to the local economy in Warren County.”
The 100 percent employee-owned company has expanded significantly in Indianola and now employs 120 people. Cemen Tech currently exports to 52 countries throughout the world and has a sales staff and dealers who work with potential customers across the globe. Machine demonstrations are held in multiple countries each year to allow interested people to see the volumetric mixers in action. Staff also participate in multiple trade shows worldwide. Print and video materials are translated and shared worldwide and in addition, internet marketing is utilized to secure new customers who could use Cemen Tech’s equipment to solve their need for quality concrete. Cemen Tech has also worked with the Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) at Iowa State University to secure new dealers in multiple countries. Exporting now makes up 40 percent of the company’s sales.
While Cemen Tech has established itself as a successful exporter, the company is working to help others succeed as well. It recently partnered with the Warren County Economic Development Corporation on an Exporting 101 panel designed to assist other companies in Warren County learn more about exporting and help them get started in exporting.
Cemen Tech, the world’s largest manufacturer of volumetric proportioning and continuous mixing systems for concrete, started out in the late 1960’s as marketing company in Minneapolis, MN that promoted mobile concrete mixers in a nine state area. In 1974, the company moved to Indianola, Iowa to expand and be more central to its base territory. During the late 70’s, Cemen Tech began experimenting with producing its own concrete mixers for domestic sales and eventually the company started to receive inquiries from customers in other countries about their products.
Cemen Tech will be recognized at the SBA’s 2016 Small Business Week Awards Reception held in West Des Moines on May 6th. The company was nominated by Rachel Gocken, Operations Manager at the Warren Count Economic Development Corporation.
In recognition of the small business community’s contributions to the American economy and society, the President of the United States designates one week each year as National Small Business Week. Scheduled for the week of May 1st of this year, Small Business Week 2016 will honor the more than 28 million small businesses in America. Since its establishment in 1963, the highlight of this annual tradition is the presentation of awards which focus on the outstanding contributions of small business persons at the district, state and national levels.
