WASHINGTON  -  U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today announced that Venture Products, Inc., in Oran, MO, and the Mid-America Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (MAMTAAC) will work together to raise their level of competition with foreign imports.

 

“In order to help our businesses compete in a fierce global marketplace, MAMTAAC provides advisory and financial assistance to companies experiencing the adverse effects of increasing imports,” Emerson said.  “In Oran, every job and every business is vital to the economic health of our community.  This helping hand is how we all work together to make American goods competitive.  Our products are the result of the best craftsmanship in the world.”

 

Venture Products, Inc., produces baseball and golf caps.  The company will receive approved assistance in the form of a $150,000 grant to be cost-shared on a 50 percent government, 50 percent firm basis.  Venture Products, Inc., will receive the grant for technical assistance to counter the effects of loss in sales due to the increase of foreign competition.

 

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our local economies in Southern Missouri.  It can be difficult, given the limited resources in a small Missouri operation, to adjust to new international competition.  I am glad we have a source of tried-and-true advice and assistance from MAMTAAC available to Missouri businesses, and I am glad VPI can take advantage of it to adapt in a changing market,” Emerson said.

 

The designation for aid comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce.