Export-Import Bank Success: Gatekeeper Security

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Gatekeeper Security, a small technology firm in Sterling, Va., has doubled its year-over-year growth since 2010 when the company began using two financing tools of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank): export-credit insurance and Global Credit Express, the Bank's direct loan for small businesses.

Using Ex-Im's small-business products, Gatekeeper has increased exports of its under-vehicle security systems to achieve more than $10 million in total sales. Ninety-five percent of its products are exported to the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. The company's equipment is now found in 28 countries, including Mexico, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"Small businesses need liquidity and risk protection to grow through exporting," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "We developed Global Credit Express to provide exporters with working capital loans under $500,000, which usually aren't available from commercial lenders. Ex-Im Bank can fill that lending gap, and we want more small businesses to experience the kind of growth that Gatekeeper has achieved."

"Ex-Im's credit insurance policy has allowed us to use the credit standing of Ex-Im Bank to guarantee bank letters of credit issued by foreign banks to fund pre-shipment financing. And now with the Global Credit Express facility, we have a further means to fund the materials and labor costs required to meet foreign orders," said Gatekeeper Security CEO Christopher Millar.

Gatekeeper Security develops and deploys advanced screening technology to enable its customers to search under vehicles from a safe distance. Gatekeeper's automatic under-vehicle inspection systems are designed to provide a first line of defense against threats to ground transportation and are integrated with other entry-point control technologies. The company has 12 employees in Sterling and 10 additional employees based in Dubai and Mexico.

ABOUT EX-IM BANK:

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that supports and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, direct loans and export-credit insurance, to promote the sale of U.S. goods and services abroad. Ninety percent of its transactions directly serve American small businesses.

In fiscal year 2014, Ex-Im Bank approved $20.5 billion in total authorizations. These authorizations supported an estimated $27.5 billion in U.S. export sales, as well as approximately 164,000 American jobs in communities across the country.

Small-business exporters can learn about how Ex-Im Bank products can empower them to increase foreign sales by clicking here. For more information about Ex-Im, visit www.exim.gov.

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SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States

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