The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Newberry-based Endoscopy Replacement Parts as the National Exporter of the Year.
“We are so honored and proud to bring this national level award to Florida and the Gainesville region”, said John Hartnett, the company’s vice president of global business development. “We felt that we had a chance to win at the district level, but it is remarkable that we performed this well.”
The company will receive the award during Small Business Week activities in Washington, D.C. on May 1 and 2. This acknowledgment follows recognition as the manufacturer of the year for 2015 from the Manufacturers Association of Florida and the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce.
The company has experienced double-digit sales growth annually, and has added customers from 20 more countries over the past three years – bringing the number of countries served to almost 80, Hartnett said.
CEO David P. Bello Sr. founded the company in South Florida in 1997, and he moved it to Newberry in 2006. The management team also includes Bello’s son, David A. Bello Jr., who is the General Manager.
International sales account for 65 percent of the business for the company, which supplies repair facilities with aftermarket parts for flexible and rigid endoscopy machines — a niche market that is growing as endoscopy testing expands, Hartnett said.
The Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida nominated the company for the award.
“ERPI has embraced the power of exporting to create quality jobs and to sustain business during domestic economic slowdowns,” said Kate Arroyo, the Small Business Development Center’s international trade specialist.
“The company takes pride in employing local, diverse, multigenerational community members spanning from baby boomers to millennials, and to father-son, husband-wife relationships.”
Endoscopy Replacement Parts tapped a global business database through FSBDC. “The database provides information at our fingertips about companies in our classification of business around the globe,” Hartnett said. “It gives us information about tariffs, the stability of countries and how much they import U.S. products.”
The company also received assistance from Enterprise Florida, including grants for marketing trips to Dubai, Mexico, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Hartnett is a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce North Florida District Export Council. He serves on Enterprise Florida’s Life Sciences-Medical Industry Committee and with similar committees of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce.