(DENVER) -- Colorado companies TEI Rock Drills and Ice-O-Matic were announced on May 19, 2016 as the two winners of the 46th Annual Governor's Excellence in Exporting. This award recognizes Colorado companies that have contributed to the state's economic growth through international trade. Exporting currently brings approximately $20 billion in commodity and service exports into Colorado.
TEI Rock Drills was established in 1980, and currently exports 45% of their products to every continent except Antarctica. TEI is the international leader in the design and manufacture of drilling attachments, limited access drills and drill rig components. TEI manufactures many patented features into their limited access rigs and drilling attachments. Each of their unique items is available individually to the contractor and equipment manufacturer. All 46 employees work at their headquarters in Montrose.
Ice-O-Matic is headquartered in Denver and has 210 employees worldwide. The company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of commercial ice making equipment. In the last six years, Ice-O-Matic has more than doubled in size and their export sales have been the fastest growing segment of their business. Their exports now represent more than 25% of company sales. In 2010, Ice-O-Matic export sales totaled $10.6 million; in 2015, they exported more than $25 million worth of machines to 55 different countries.
Both companies were formally awarded by Fiona Arnold, executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) at World Trade Day, the region's leading international trade event. This year's World Trade Day theme is "Exploring Your Trans-Pacific Partners." The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is an agreement that proposes free trade between the US and 11 other key trading partners bordering the Pacific Ocean. This plan still needs to be ratified by each country's congress which includes: the removal of tariffs, harmonized standards, labor and environmental alignment and a dispute resolution mechanism. For more information about World Trade Day, please visit http://www.wtcdenver.org/event-2029453.