Cherokee Corporations Honored for Global Expansion
WOODSTOCK, March 6, 2015 – Neonatal devices designed to eliminate risk. Eight years ago, NeoMed, Inc. started as a one-man operation. Today, the company is a global powerhouse, holding a 35 percent share on the domestic market for neonatal enteral feeding devices. Yet, NeoMed has only one location in the U.S.; a 15,500 square-foot building in Woodstock, Georgia. This week, Gov. Nathan Deal and the Georgia Department of Economic Development recognized NeoMed for its international growth and expansion in 2014.
NeoMed is one of 44 award recipients of this year’s GLOBE, an acronym for ‘Georgia Launching Opportunities by Exporting.’ Award recipients span 17 counties and have business dealings in 104 unique countries and territories.
Within the past year, NeoMed established a new international headquarters in Dublin and expanded its marketing and sales operations into Austria, France, the U.K., and Australia. Prior to last year, the company’s international market included Singapore, Spain and Canada.
“We are delighted that two of our ‘state of the art’ businesses have been recognized by Gov. Deal for their international successes,” said Buzz Ahrens, Cherokee County Commission Chairman. “Regardless of where one’s business is located, the world is our market. While business practices vary across the globe, those companies with quality and innovative products/services have unlimited growth potential.”
“We congratulate NeoMed and J & S Chemicals for their recognition and are proud to have them based in Cherokee County,” said Misti Martin, President of the Cherokee Office of Economic Development. “They serve as models of what can be achieved outside our borders.”
Cherokee has a strong global corporate base and is home to many international companies, with recent location announcements from companies based in Germany and The Netherlands. As shown through the GLOBE Award recipients, our existing industries have excelled at venturing into international markets.
J&S Chemicals, another Cherokee-based industry, is also a 2014 GLOBE recipient. J&S is a leading global supplier of specialty chemicals used in industries that span automotive, aerospace, communications, marine, medical, industrial application and consumer retail. Currently, the company has marketing and sales operations in 26 countries, with its world headquarters located in Canton. J&S Chemicals, as well as NeoMed, Inc. are privately-held companies.
“In the last year, 88 percent of companies that utilized Georgia’s international trade services had fewer than 100 employees,” said Gov. Deal. “This year’s award winners represent the high-caliber, highly competitive companies that operate in Georgia, and I congratulate each of them on receiving this great honor.”
The GLOBE Awards were established by the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) in 2014 for the purpose of highlighting companies that have contributed to Georgia’s economic development and global presence by exporting to a new international market.
Recently released trade statistics for 2014 showed Georgia celebrated a 5th consecutive year of export growth, with a record $39.4 billion in exports.
“It’s exciting to see so many businesses from the state of Georgia expand internationally,” said Hilary Sherman, Vice President of Finance at NeoMed, Inc. “It also lets us know we need to work on a higher goal. The company with the largest number of new international markets last year expanded into 37 countries and territories. We thought five was good.”
