17th Annual Holiday Luncheon and Reception

Posted by Keith Wiley, Intern

On December 6^th, the World Trade Center Harrisburg Team hosted the 17^th annual Holiday Luncheon and Reception. This year we had a particularly interesting luncheon program focused on the Dominican Republic.  WTC member Irma Olivo, Sales Manager for Latin America at Integra Life Sciences was our presenter. 

Check out our photos from the luncheon on Facebook! For more information on traveling and doing business in the Dominican Republic feel free to take a look at the cultural report for the Dominican Republic. These reports are prepared periodically for WTC members traveling to specific countries. 

Below is a brief overview and some fast facts about the Dominican Republic:

Capital City: Santo Domingo

Official Language: Spanish

Currency: Dominican Peso

Land Area: 48,442 km2

Population: 10,219,630

Climate: Tropical

Religions: Catholic 95%, Other 5%

Irma began her presentation with an overview of the various Holidays celebrated in the Dominican Republic and shared cultural  as well as culinary highlights that one can experience while visiting the country. A list of these Holidays are as follows:

January 1st- New Year’s Day/Año Nuevo  

January 6th- Day of the Epiphany/ Three Kings Day

January 21st- The Virgin of Altagracia

January 26th- Duarte’s Birthday

February 27th- Dominican Independence

March 29th- Good Friday

April 29th- Dominican Labor Day

May 30th – Corpus Christi

August 16th- Dominican Restoration Day

September 24th- The Virgin of Mercedes

November 4th- Constitution Day

December 25th- Christmas Day/ Navidad

It is important to understand cultural differences when visiting a foreign country and especially while conducting business. For example, for Navidad, or Christmas, businesses in the Dominican Republic are mostly closed from December 20^th- January 7^th (with limited work hours if not closed). It is customary to  receive and give cards and small gifts (Nothing Personal) such as Gift baskets, Rum, Whiskey and Eggnog (Ponche).

Fast forwarding to Independence Day, which is celebrated on February 27^th, Irma explained that this is arguably the best time to visit and experience the Dominican Republic. Each region has their own carnival while many businesses sponsor dance teams/ floats and operate on limited hours and days.

A final note on Religious Holidays is that during Semana Santa (Holy Week) most businesses are closed while families pack up and go to the beach for the week. During this week do not expect to have many meat dishes because it is customary to not consume meat during Holy Week.

Beyond these Holidays the presentation touched on other important cultural realms, perhaps one of the most important, Dominican cuisine! There are many different options to choose from when concerning food in the Dominican Republic, the various mixtures and blends of recipes stretch across the Globe and can exemplify the deepened history this area has experienced. Just a brief list includes Puerco Asado (roasted pork), Arros/ Morros (rice & beans), Pavo (turkey seasoned with sour oranges), Ensalada Rusia (potato salad with beets), Telera (holiday bread), and Flan (pictured right). 

As always, we give many thanks to our sponsors UPS, FultonBank, MANTEC and all other supporters who helped to make this event possible. The World Trade Center Harrisburg Team wishes you happy holidays!

Oakworks Tour Success!

Posted by Cody Richard, Intern


On October 25, WTC members had the opportunity to tour the manufacturing facility and showroom of Oakworks Inc, Since 1977 Oakworks Inc. has been committed to providing safe, durable, comfortable and ergonomic equipment to industries supporting the health and well being of people all over the globe. Oakworks produces tables for medical, massage, and spa uses and currently sells their products in all 50 States and to distributors in 35 countries worldwide. Oakworks recently received notoriety for their international success as recipients of the "Excellence in International Trade" award at Mantec's 2013 Awards Breakfast.



Thirty one individuals attended the event from seventeen different companies. The event included an introduction of Oakworks' staff, a detailed story of the origins of the company from Oakworks President Jeff Riach, and a brief description of how the company handles business internationally from a financial and marketing standpoint. 

The main portion of the event centered around a detailed tour of the 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility that showed all in attendance the finer details of the creation of their state of the art tables. Members of the tour were granted access to the upholstery, metal working, research and development, marketing, and assembly stations of the manufacturing facility in order to fully grasp the amount of detail and care that goes into the creation of each and every table that leaves Oakworks' facility.

The event concluded with a short tour of Oakworks' showroom that allowed tour members to examine the finished products of the tables they saw being assembled on the manufacturing floor as well as an opportunity to ask their tour guide any questions they might have had.

Overall, the tour was a great success and enjoyed by all those who attended.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank Oakworks for their willingness to host this event and for all their time and effort involved in doing so.

If you missed our tour, you can still enjoy a 

virtual tour of Oakworks on the company website!

Risk Management Seminar

by Cody Richard, Intern

As part of our annual  "Bringing the World to YOU!"  on September 20th s in Lancaster we offered a  "Managing Trade Payments and FX in Global Markets", which was presented by Amy Sahm, Senior Vice President and Manager of Fulton International Group.

Amy Sahm

The numerous topics discussed in Ms. Sahm's presentation included:

•           Risks of international trade
•           Advantages and disadvantages of paying with foreign currency
•           Current market trends
•           Tips for avoiding fraudulent payments
•           In-depth analysis of the Middle Eastern markets
•           Valuable trade statistics
•           Analysis and overview of the finer points of Foreign Exchange
•           Hedging tools

Great information was shared by all who participated in the presentation and there were many topics discussed. All attendees learned something new from the presentation and developed a clearer understanding of the management processes and activities of conducting foreign exchange in Middle Eastern markets.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about any of the highlighted topics please e-mail Amy and the Fulton International Group at asahm@fult.com. 

If you wish to view Amy's presentation click here.

"Bringing the World to YOU!" Recap

Posted by Cody Richard, Intern

Our 15th annual "Bringing the World to YOU!" event was held on September 20th at the Best Western Premier Eden Resorts & Suites in Lancaster.  In this event we hosted several representatives from Pennsylvania's overseas trade offices and offered regional companies the opportunity to meet one-on-one with the State's trade reps. We look forward to this event each year, despite the fact that it involves a great deal of pre-event planning and post-event follow up and at times resembles speed-dating, but in the end everyone involved has a good time and establishes great contacts for overseas trade.  Pennsylvania's trade reps are a great group of individuals who are fun and easy to work with in a business or casual setting.  This event has no shortage of smiles and laughter.

Here are this year's event numbers: 

·                  104 attendees

·                  23 overseas trade representatives

·                  30 different companies

·                  152 meetings between companies and trade representatives

Similarly to last year, this year's corporate sponsor for the event was UPS and we thank them for their continued support.  The program was partnered with MANTEC and the Fulton International Group, as well as funded in part through a STEP grant award from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

In addition to the Trade Rep meetings, this year’s event featured two speakers as a part of our luncheon program.  Bhavna Tahilramani, from PA’s Arab Gulf Office, and Sheldon Kauffman, from Gannett Fleming each presented as the Keynote Speakers of the program. Their presentations were focused on the golden opportunities that the Arab Gulf region presents for PA companies to export their products and services.  Bhavna currently serves as the Business Development Manager at Channels, the authorized trade representative office for

Pennsylvania in the Arab Gulf, where she heads the PA trade representation group, while Sheldon oversees Gannett Fleming’s international business development and the establishment of international offices, including Abu Dhabi and Doha.  Both individuals shared their best tips and experiences in relation to conducting business in the Middle East that they have acquired through extensive experience in conducting business in the region.

In the end, this year’s “Bringing the World to YOU!” event was a success, as all who attended left satisfied with newly established trade leads with Pennsylvania’s Trade Representatives and valuable knowledge in conducting business in the Middle East.