January 24, 1999

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- TechLink, a technology transfer center at Montana State University, has played a key role in assisting two Montana environmental technology companies to secure grants from a national program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and managed by the National Association of State Development Agencies (NASDA). The program provides grants to bolster company export initiatives specifically to Asia and Latin America.

Montana has at least 230 environmental technology companies with annual revenues of approximately $350 million. This industry offers products and services for improvement of environmental quality: clean up, prevention, monitoring, and/or controlling pollution. It includes everything from traditional wastewater treatment facilities to new, state-of-the-art air emissions control equipment or cutting-edge bioremediation technologies.

Recently, TechLink helped Hydrometrics to obtain a NASDA grant. Hydrometrics is a Helena, Montana, firm with patented water technologies and a commitment to gaining a greater share of the international environmental technology market. The NASDA award will support Hydrometrics' exporting efforts in Mexico and Peru.

Hydrometrics has been cultivating its business interests in Mexico and Peru for several years and has learned the significance that cultural aspects play in fostering successful negotiations in the Latin American environment. Latin American businesspeople seldom do business with firms they are not thoroughly comfortable with, personally and professionally. NASDA funds will be applied to enhancing communications between Hydrometrics and its prospective business partners. Hydrometrics will accomplish this by translating its promotional and presentation materials into Spanish. Funds will also be used to cultivate all-important relationships between Hydrometrics' contacts in Mexico and Peru. To facilitate these relationships, Hydrometrics has opened a Mexican office in Hermosillo and intends to place its employees in Peruvian mining companies for periods lasting several months at a time.

Similiarly, TechLink supported the application of SRS Crisafulli, a firm in Glendive, Montana, for a NASDA grant to open new markets in Asia for the company's pumping and dredging systems for handling waste, wastewater, sludge, hazardous waste and stormwater runoff. This NASDA grant supported two company trips to SE Asia. These trips allowed SRS Crisafulli to interview and select representatives for the Asian market, to promote Crisafulli products at a trade show and to train the selected representatives on SRS products. The grant also allowed Crisafulli to build and ship a demonstration system to Singapore.

Unfortunately, SRS Crisafulli's decision to market products into SE Asia was made just prior to the economic collapse of the region, which put a damper on U.S. exports to Asia in general. However, the company has recently concluded a major sale to a mine in Papua New Guinea through its representative in Singapore. And it is now negotiating equipment sales in Thailand and Malaysia. SRS Crisafulli is confident that when the Asian economies rebound, it will be in a good position to sell equipment throughout the region.

TechLink is currently working with twelve Montana environmental technology companies committed to entering the Mexican market. Alliances are being formed with a number of carefully selected support organizations within Mexico to strengthen these efforts. These partners are working to identify matches between the needs of Mexican firms and municipalities and the capabilities of Montana firms.

MSU TechLink and the Montana companies it is assisting are encouraged by the early successes of certain Montana companies in the international arena. Unquestionably, Montana's growing environmental technology industry has the potential to make significant contributions to Montana's economy and to a cleaner environment both at home and abroad.

For more information about the above companies, please check out these websites:

Hydrometrics at www.hydrometrics.com and SRS Crisafulli at www.crisafulli.com.

Contact:
Dr. Will Swearingen
MSU TechLink
(406) 994-7704
wds@montana.edu

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