Delivering your products in your domestic market is easy, delivering internationally adds complexity with different rules and costs. Today, we’re talking with David Casher, owner of Casher’s Aviation Finishes to see how his company started to export into Europe and how EuroDev assisted on this path.
Exporting was surprisingly easy
“When we started to get requests from Europe for our aviation paints, we were open to this new opportunity. Our first step was to see how we can deliver in Europe which turned out to be very straightforward. Our shipping company provided this service and we quickly made the arrangements and started exporting!” David continues: “Of course, this wetted our appetite for expanding our business to Europe and this is where EuroDev came in. Besides helping us to expand our customer base, we are now looking into improving our logistics model to better serve our customers in Europe.”
Source: Statista
Success in three stages
“There are three stages in logistics for our North American clients” explains Gerjan ter Wal, who is the EuroDev principal contact for Casher’s. “Like Casher’s, many partners of Eurodev start their European business by supplying directly from the United States or Canada. A second stage is focused to improve lead times, reduce shipping costs and reduce administrative hassle. At this point, warehousing in Europe makes sense once a certain threshold is reached. In a final stage, EuroDev can assist in setting up a full European office for (pre-) sales, after-sales or even local production.”
Casher’s revenue in Europe has grown substantially over time. To enable further growth, one of the main objectives is to improve the landed costs of our products. By warehousing in Europe and using sea freight instead of air freight, we can drastically reduce shipping costs. This would make Casher’s more competitive and attractive in a wider market.
Source: Statista
“Although we need a highly specialized warehousing partner, EuroDev helped us to find some potential partners” according to David. “We’re planning ahead” is Gerjan’s comment on this. “Just like in the USA, there are some requirement in Europe for storing flammable products like paint. In addition, we want to partner with a company that can offer mixing services as well to ensure short lead times for European clients.
David continues: “Once we have the logistics sorted out, I’m sure EuroDev can help us with local taxes (VAT) and other administrative requirements. I’m confident and excited to make this next step together. Looking further ahead, I would like to have a similar setup of our company in Europe as we have in Pennsylvania. This will not happen overnight, but every step we take should be towards this goal.
About EuroDev
EuroDev, established in 1996 with offices in The Netherlands and France, has a single, defined purpose to help mid-sized North American companies expand their business in Europe. We have created a proven, successful business development model and since our founding, have partnered with over 300 companies to help them define and meet their European business goals. Services provided include Sales Outsourcing, HR Outsourcing and Digital Marketing.
