Recreatives Industries Named 2005 Exporter of the Year

International diversification at Buffalo, NY-based Recreatives Industries in indicative of how small manufacturers in the U.S. are expanding by increasing their sales to the 95 percent of world markets located outside the U.S.

Recreatives Industries, which won the 2005 ThinkGlobal/Commcerial News USA Exporter of the Year award in recognition of its export efforts, is a privately-held manufacturer of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The award is given by ThinkGlobal Inc., publisher of Commercial News USA, the official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Commercial News USA is a catalog-style magazine distributed to an estimated 400,000 readers in 145 countries worldwide. Exporter of the Year awards are given to one U.S. company in each of 14 industry categories. Recreatives Industries was named Exporter of the year in the Sports & Recreation category. To be eligible for the award, the company must currently be exporting from the United States.

Recreatives Industries has demonstrated an ongoing commitment ot international trade. "The export business has been a good counter-cyclical business for our market," says Galen Reich, marketing director for Recreatives. "It's a nice buffer for when business and the economy are slow in the U.S. Pushing exports is always and important part of our marketing strategy."

Founded in 1969, Recreatives Industries began exporting in 1985. Since then, export sales have been increasing by an average of 10% per year. The company expects a 20% increase in 2006.

"Export sales are a steady percentage of overall sales," says Reich. "For example, as the dollar weakens, we tend to get more inquiries and interest, and our export sales do go up."

Initially, Recreatives relied exclusively on Commcerial News USA to help it find new markets overseas. "We dabbled in exporting with sporadic success in the early days of the company," Reich explains. "But we didn't have much continued success until we started advertising in Commcerial News USA. For about 10 years, our sole source of international marketing was Commcercial News USA."

In recent years, the internet also has provided a big sales boost. It amplifies our print advertising, and we now get better results because of e-commerce," says Reich. "The pring ads and the internet complement eachother because the print drives customers to our website."

Recreaties largest export markets are Eastern Europe and Russia - an area in which the ocmpany is still developing new customers. In fact, the company recently shipped its first three vehicles to latvia. Other strong export markets include Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Honduras. The company also has recently added new dealers in South Korea and Malaysia.

Pitt Auto Electric Company is proud to have supplied Recreatives with Kohler Engines for more than 20 years. Recreatives currently uses the Kohler 23 hp Command Twin in their MAX II 2-pasenger and MAX IV 4-passenger ATVs. Recreatives' customers enjoy the Kohler Command's rapid throttle response and strong torque. Customers also report excellent cold weather starting and operation with the Kohler Command. Kohler's ability to provide specific engine features saves Recreateives production assembly time.

For Recreatives Industries, exporting is part of a broader strategy for diversification and survival in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. To learn more about Recreatives family of products, visit their website www.maxatvs.com or call them at 1-800-255-2511.