The Right Tools for Tapping World Markets: Award-Winning Exports from the Factory Floor

by Curt Cultice
ITA Office of Public Affairs

Years ago Pedro Aranda led his family from Argentina to the United States looking for greater entrepreneurial opportunities and to turn a dream into reality. He achieved his dream—moving from a factory floor job to president of his own company, Aranda Tooling, Inc., in 1978.

Twenty-five years later, things are only getting better for Pedro Aranda’s company. “I always wanted to own my own business in the United States, and I have worked hard to make the most of the opportunity,” Aranda says. “I learned early on the keys to success are continually improving your product and providing great customer service, and that’s what we do best.”

Sitting in his office at the firm’s headquarters in Huntington Beach, California, Aranda loves the hustle and bustle of his factory, and why not? After all, Aranda Tooling is going places— specializing in high volume metal stamping as well as precision tooling. “We make components for different industries, but the automotive sector is by far our largest market,” Aranda says. “For example, we supply everything from brackets and heat shields for Honeywell’s turbocharger plant in Mexico to stamped parts for radiator assemblies.”

Aranda Tooling also helps provide the comfort and convenience of home life. The firm sells climate controls for thermostats and hot water heaters; components for door locks to Black & Decker; brackets for Price Pfister faucets; and decorative flanges for showers. Aranda Tooling sees tremendous opportunities abroad and has moved to take advantage of a global market in which 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States.

Recognition for Export Performance
Last August, Commerce Secretary Don Evans presented Aranda Tooling with the U.S. Commerce Department’s Export Achievement Award. The firm has utilized the services of the Commerce Department’s U.S. Export Assistance Center in Newport Beach, California. Raul Lozano of the Newport office provided counseling and trade show information for the company’s exports to Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

“Small companies like Aranda are willing to take a risk and smart enough to know that the global economy is the place you want to be to make money,” Evans said. Evans noted Aranda Tooling’s great success in exporting and the contributions of the firm in creating jobs. “You truly represent the backbone of our nation’s economy,” he told Pedro Aranda and his 125 employees at the presentation.

Exports account for 50 percent of Aranda Tooling’s sales, and the firm is looking to use more of the services of the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Newport Beach. “There is a strong possibility that we will soon be arranging to use the Commerce Department’s Gold Key Service in Mexico, which provides for pre-arranged business appointments,” says Aranda. “Mexico will likely continue to be our largest market, especially with all the automotive assembly that goes on there.”

Where else might Pedro Aranda be looking to expand his firm’s sales? “There’s plenty of export opportunities out there,” he says. “The biggest challenge is finding the customers.”