Lone Star Shippers

Texas Maintains Export Dominance

Ruben J. Diaz Sr. incorporated the El Paso Water Industrial Services in January 2000, starting the new millennium with a new company. The family-owned startup benefited from the founder’s years of experience in the industry, offering water filtration and waste-water treatment products and services for hospitals, restaurants and smaller manufacturers in both the United States and Mexico. Like many ventures in Texas, Diaz’s new business started out export-oriented, making the most of his personal, family and business connections on both sides of the border. Read More

Sweet Carolina

South Carolina Opens Doors to the Worldwide Marketplace

Export opportunities suddenly and unexpectedly opened for Columbia, South Carolina-based Bridge to Life, distributor of its own line of preservation solutions for organ transplants, when a competitor had to recall its similar solutions.

“The market opened and we were one of the companies that tried to fill that gap,” says Aaron Gilchrist, global director of sales at Bridge to Life. “We went from being a predominantly domestic company with some international sales to going global nearly overnight. We had to move quickly but we continue to fair well due to a great deal of hard work and a lot of help, too.” Read More