Economics

Shipping Out

Mining overseas markets can be treacherous, but entrepreneurs who do a little legwork can strike gold

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July 5, 2004 at 4:00 AM UTC

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Mark Finewood had driven past the abandoned textile factories near the Blythewood (S.C.) headquarters of Patterson Fan countless times. But early in 2001, soon after Finewood became Patterson's vice-president for sales and marketing, the shuttered buildings seemed a warning.

True, the 80-employee supplier of high-velocity industrial fans and cooling systems was doing well, with Ford, General Motors, and Target among its customers. Revenues neared $14 million. But a database search showed that potential sales leads had shrunk by a third in the previous five years. If he couldn't keep revenues growing, Finewood feared Patterson Fan might one day share the fate of those empty mills.