Companies learning to sell to NATO

Groton — NATO is a big market, said the president of a Connecticut company, and he wants to be a part of it.
That is why Ken MacCormac, of Capewell Components Company, and executives from more than 60 other companies attended a seminar at the Mystic Marriot today on how to do business with NATO.
NATO procurement experts explained how NATO works, the types of products it buys and how to navigate the procurement process.
"Connecticut has a lot of capabilities but we’ve found that people with capabilities in the United States do not necessarily know the requirements in Europe," said David Wright, director of resources and logistics for the U.S. mission to NATO.
The seminar built on U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney’s June trip to Europe with a dozen companies to meet with NATO officials. Courtney, D-2nd District, invited these officials to Connecticut to talk more with Connecticut companies, and he hosted the seminar with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s regional Export Assistance Center in Middletown.
"Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States and as a nation, we have not been as aggressive as we could be in pursuing those customers," Courtney said at the opening of the seminar. "This seminar really provides a path that can help us as a state and as a country get out of the economic downturn."
Courtney announced he would go on a second international trade mission with Connecticut businesses to Israel in April, in conjunction with the Middletown Export Assistance Center and the District Export Council of Connecticut.
Wright told the audience that NATO is getting more money all the time, even as defense budgets are shrinking.
"If you find out you sell what we buy, you’ll want to understand the procurement process because if you don’t, you’re not going to win," he said.
Richard Nicolari, president of United Avionics Inc. in Naugatuck, said he had never thought about selling to NATO before.
"We are always looking for new business in the military and aerospace industry," he said. "NATO has a presence in Afghanistan with helicopters and we make wiring for helicopters so who knows? This could be a very valuable thing for us."