Helping a local business with an overseas customer

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Terry Fagan, Hydro Foam sales director and Dennis Fagan, Hydro Foam president, are holding a water soluble product that’s formulated to improve oil bit performance. The orange polymer stick is an effective drill bit cleaner, solids dispersant and drilling fluid thinner.

The Wes Watkins Center for International Trade and Development at Oklahoma State University recently proved its value to Hydro Foam Technology of Perkins, Okla., by helping the company work with an important overseas customer.

Hydro Foam Technology produces a product that is applied to drilling fluids to ensure waste products from drilling are efficiently carried to the surface for more effective and user-friendly drilling. The company called on the center at OSU to help it with logistical challenges and financial risks involved in working with a new international customer.

Justin Hazzard, international trade specialist at the Wes Watkins Center for International Trade and Development, worked with the client over several months to make certain the company had an understanding of its export compliance responsibilities and ensure that Hydro Foam received full payment for the order while reducing the risks of working with a new customer in a foreign country.

Dennis Fagan, Hydro Foam Technology owner, said he was impressed with the depth of knowledge and professionalism of the International Trade Center.

“We are not frequent exporters, so this particular sales order presented challenges that I am not sure we would have undertaken if it were not for the export assistance we received,” Fagan said. “Among other things, Hazzard helped us fully understand the methods of export compliance by providing customized training for our company.”

The international order provided some complexities since it was generated in the United Arab Emirates but the destination of the goods was the oil fields in Iraq. Hazzard provided training to the company’s key employees on export compliance, international logistics and export finance. He also researched the sanitary requirements for wooden pallets being imported into the destination country.

Hydro Foam Technology fulfilled the sales order and the company is now considering the development of an export strategy plan to attract additional foreign customers and increase its international market share.

Companies can contact Wes Watkins Center for International Trade and Development SBDC with their international trade questions at 405-744-4272 or citd1@okstate.edu.