Sana International Commerce Awarded Ex-Im Bank Minority Business Exporter of the Year

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sana International Commerce, Inc. (Sana International Commerce) received the Minority Business Exporter of the Year award from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank). The award was presented at the Bank's 38th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

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"By selling their products to customers overseas, Sana International Commerce has been able to drastically increase sales and sustain American jobs," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "I am proud that we supported a record level of exports by minority-owned businesses last year, and Ex-Im Bank remains committed to ensuring that business owners of all backgrounds have access to the financing they need to succeed."

"The support of the Ex-Im Bank has helped our company bloom," said Sana International Commerce Manager Rossie Ortiz. "When we started our operations, we often had to reject orders due to lack of capital. However, with the support of Ex-Im Bank, we have increased our sales and created jobs in our community."

The company, which was founded in 1994 and is based in San Antonio, Texas, sells and  repairs heavy industrial equipment for oilfield, locomotive, and marine industries. Over the past 19 years, Sana International Commerce has grown from a 2-person operation to a staff of 28. Since using Ex-Im Bank's working capital guarantee, the company's sales have increased from $400,000 to more than $8.3 million, and it has also added two divisions, Renewable Energy and Food & Beverages. Frost Bank of San Antonio, Texas was the lender.

In Fiscal Year 2012, Ex-Im Bank supported a record level of exports by women and minority-owned businesses – a 17 percent increase over the year before – and it is now the fastest growing sector in the Bank's small business portfolio.

Ex-Im Bank's 2013 Annual Conference will feature prominent members of the business and government community including Vice President Joe Biden, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, former National Security Advisor General James Jones, Xerox Corporation CEO Ursula Burns, and Citibank Chairman Michael O'Neill.A full listing of speakers, panelists, and moderators is available on Ex-Im's website: www.exim.gov

About Ex-Im Bank
Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved nearly $35.8 billion in total authorizations in FY 2012 – an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6.1 billion directly supporting small-business export sales – also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $50 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 255,000 American jobs in communities across the country. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States