Staff Report
Published March 20, 2013

The undersecretary of the U.S. International Trade Administration honored three South Carolina businesses today during a luncheon hosted by the World Trade Center Charleston.

Francisco Sanchez gave export achievement certificates to Terressentia, Sabai Technology and Sun Surveillance.

Ladson-based Terressentia produces distilled spirits, and it identified export sales for potential growth. The company began selling in Europe then transitioned to Latin America, where it received a Brazilian contract.

Sabai is based in Simpsonville, Sanchez said, and the company entered 40 new markets on six continents last year, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenue. The company makes virtual private network routers.

“This success if very much worth highlighting,” Sanchez said.

Sun Surveillance, based in Spartanburg, makes solar-powered wireless security camera systems, Sanchez said. The company worked with the Trade Administration’s Charleston and Mexican offices to establish connections in Mexico, where it eventually received a contract from a large mining company.

Before the awards, Sanchez asked the audience to imagine they were all opening a retail store on King Street, but each store would only market its product to five of every 100 people who walk by the store.

“Does anybody think that store is going to be successful?” Sanchez said. “Of course it can’t.”

Sanchez said companies with exportable products face the same problem when they don’t market their products and services across the world and focus only on domestic markets.