Thinking big, going global (Hamilton Business)

Leigh Coulter got the call on a Friday afternoon.

The Japanese customer she had been working with for months wanted to meet with her in person — on Monday.

Coulter, owner of Growers Greenhouse Supplies (GGS) in Vineland, had been working with the Japanese firm on bid pricing for a project.

“On Saturday I jumped on a plane with a change of clothes, a book on how to do business in Japan, and a Japanese-English dictionary,” she said.

Coulter’s story is reflective of dozens of Hamilton area business owners who have gone global — either selling and shipping goods to foreign markets, or bought or built manufacturing plants, distribution centres, sales offices in countries far from the city’s horizon.

Too many businesses, however, are not thinking big enough. That’s according to Robert Hattin, president of ProVantage Automation in Ancaster and chairperson of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.