Western Forms, Inc., a Kansas City company, manufactures aluminum forming systems that are used in residential and commercial cast-in-place concrete building construction. Since being established in 1955, the company grew to more than 300 employees. Unfortunately, due to the global economic slowdown in the construction industry in 2008, employment shrank to less than 70 employees.
EXPORT CHALLENGE
Western Forms needed protections against the risk of foreign buyer nonpayment.
EXIM SOLUTION
EXIM approved Western Forms for a $2 million short-term export credit insurance policy to enter new marketplaces. The insurance covers open account credit terms for its buyers as well as protects against the risk of buyer nonpayment. Daniel Ward, the company's International Operations Manager, learned about export credit insurance by attending an EXIM Bank exporter forum in Kansas City.
RESULTS
With the Bank's insurance, Western Forms has been able to increase its sales to emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North, Central and South America. Employment has now rebounded to more than 100 employees. EXIM has supported more than $30 million of the company's export sales from 2016 to 2019.