St. Louis' Sunnen Products Honored for Export Achievement at IMTS by U.S. Department of Commerce

CHICAGO--Sunnen Products, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, received an Export Achievement Award today from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service. The award is presented to companies that have benefited from Commercial Service assistance to make their first export sale or expand into new markets. Mary Joyce, Midwest Network Director for the U.S. Commercial Service in Chicago, presented the award to Sunnen’s management team during a ceremony at the 2008 International Manufacturing Technology Show at McCormick Place in Chicago.

“U.S. manufacturers like Sunnen Products represent some of the best and most innovative companies whose products are working to keep America at the forefront of global trade and competitiveness,” said Joyce. “I congratulate Sunnen on their outstanding export accomplishments.”

Sunnen is the world’s largest vertically integrated manufacturer of honing systems and abrasives used to enhance the performance of fuel injectors, small engines, gears, hydraulic components, diesel engines and oil field equipment. More than 50 percent of the company’s $100+ million in sales are export related, and Sunnen currently has offices in eight foreign countries including: Switzerland, Italy, France, Poland, Russia, China, the Czech Republic and the UK.

“Our founder, Joe Sunnen, strongly believed in serving all customers, regardless of their location around the world, and initiated a variety of export programs 70 years ago that formed the foundation for our success today,” said Mike Haughey, COO of Sunnen Products. “Today, we continue to follow his vision by expanding our international presence and, as a result, grow our sales revenue. A high quality product has value, no matter where in the world a need arises.”

Sunnen has benefited from export counseling and matchmaking services of the U.S. Commercial Service in St. Louis and overseas to make new sales to Brazil, India, and Italy. In addition, Sunnen’s most recent global expansion occurred with the opening of a facility in France in 2007. The company has also been active in China, a major growth market, since the mid 1990’s, and today has manufacturing operations there, as well as in Switzerland and the United States. The company continues to supply its worldwide operations with locally made components and technology, supporting jobs in the United States.

Last year, U.S. exports of goods and services grew by 13 percent, reaching $1.6 trillion. Manufactured exports were $981 billion, or 84% of total goods exports. In 2006, nearly 6 million U.S. jobs were linked to manufactured exports.

This is the second time that Sunnen has been recognized for export excellence. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan presented Sunnen with the President’s “E Star” Award for outstanding export success.