Derry companies undertake US trade mission to allow them to tap into new markets
Five companies from the Derry City and Strabane District Council area will travel to Boston Massachusetts this weekend, as part of a trade delegation from the North West region, where they will showcase their entrepreneurship and innovation in an effort to tap into the US market.
The locally based companies, Northbound Brewery, GoWalkTalk, Modern Democracy, Qubizm and O’Neill’s Sportswear, will join companies from Donegal on the cross-border trade mission that is being jointly organised by Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Hilary McClintock says the trip will give the businesses a unique opportunity to tap into the US market and showcase their businesses to a new audience.
John Kelpie, Chief Executive of Derry City and Strabane District Council says while the trip is very trade and investment focused, there will be a strong emphasis on education and further developing the strong cultural and economic linkages between the North West region and Massachusetts.
Accompanying Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council will be Udaras na nGaeltachta, Ulster University, Letterkenny Institute of Technology and the North West Regional College.
A new video showcasing the region as a prime location for business has been commissioned especially for this mission and will be launched in the US along with a new brochure to promote all aspects of the North West region.
Northbound Brewery is a Derry based company, owned and managed by a husband and wife team David and Martina Rogers that produce hand crafted premium beers. Northbound uses Irish ingredients and prides itself in crafting natural beers, unpasteurised, unfiltered with no artificial additives and bottled fresh on site.
Martina Rogers from Northbound said:
“This is a really good opportunity for us to make new business links and to promote our unique produce to a new market. We are a small family run business that prides itself on producing natural beer and also introducing the drinker to lesser known beer styles.
"Our beers are currently available Ireland wide, in Scotland and in England and we are really hopeful and excited at the prospect of sharing our beers with the American market.
"We hope the trip will give us a wider understanding of the supply chain for craft beer importation in the US and the chance for us to establish relationships with potential customers.”
The delegation departs next weekend, where in addition to taking part in a full meeting schedule, the team will avail of business networking opportunities focusing on foreign direct investment, and take part in a series of events to profile and showcase the region for potential export relationship development.
The delegation will also take part in the Golden Bridges Conference where the focus will be on making connections, building strong mutually beneficial relationships and promoting the North West region as a great place to do business.