International Trade Assistance Center
SERVICES PROGRAMS STAFF SUCCESS STORIES CONTACT US
The International Trade Assistance Center (ITAC), hosted by Cleveland State University's Monte Ahuja College of Business and funded by the Ohio Small Business Development Center, offers free and discreet business consulting to Small and Medium Sized businesses who want to grow their export sales.
Call us - 216-523-7347 Email us - gbc@csuohio.edu 
The ITAC will provide export assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in northeast Ohio to promote growth through exports.
The goal of the ITAC is to connect Ohioans with international markets and to ensure that they know how to attract and flourish with foreign business opportunities. In addition to working in collaboration with our colleagues at the U.S. Commercial Service, the ITAC at Cleveland State University provides access to resources of the school through its faculty, student and professional resources.
Specifically, our services include:
Cultural Language Assistance - Documentation Requirements - Export Basics
Export Compliance Education - Export Financing - Export Readiness Assessment
Global logistics - International Business Development - International Business Plan Assistance Market Research and Strategies - Trade Mission Preparation
NEW - Worldwide Market Prioritization Research
Find out what the International Trade Assistance Center (ITAC) at Cleveland State University can do for your business:
- Schedule an appointment with an ITAC representative
- Ohio Government Services for Export presentation
BusinessGate: Going Global
April 26, 2013
Testing and Certifications
June 03, 2013
Doing Business in BRIC countries
September 2013
Past Programs:
Friday, September 21, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Nate
Nate Ward (The director of the ITAC) brings international experience within manufacturing and banking as well as diverse cultural and linguistic knowledge to the ITAC. Nate brings seven years of experience in sales, logistics, marketing, pricing, research, and product development – all with international focus. He speaks multiple languages including French, Spanish and Japanese.
Reach Nate at (216)-523-7347 or n.t.ward54@csuohio.edu.
Meg
Meghan Salkin has been with the Outreach & Business Centers in the Monte Ahuja College
of Business at Cleveland State University since 2008. She is responsible for meeting logistics and communications within the Small Business Development and Global Business Centers. Meg obtained her MAGI (Master of Arts in Global Interactions) at Cleveland State University in December 2011.
Reach Meg at (216)-687-4750 or m.a.salkin@csuohio.edu
Paola
Paola Greene has been the ITAC Trade Counselor at The University of Toledo since 2012. Paola has worked in multinational companies including Sykes Alienware, IBM and Bionix. She received a marketing degree from the University of Costa Rica in 2003 and is bilingual and fluent in English and Spanish.
Reach Paola (in Toledo) at (419)-530-5682 or paola.greene@utoledo.edu
Kasey
Khanh (Kasey) Vuong is serving as an intern with ITAC CSU this Fall. She is a grad student in the Master
ofAccounting program at CSU. A member of the CSU Accounting Association, Beta Alpha Psi, theOhio Societyof CPAs, Kasey is also part of the Toastmaster International Organization.
Reach Kasey at (216)-875-9807 or k.vuong@csuohio.edu
Chase
Chase Farley is serving as an intern at the ITAC this Spring semester. He is an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelors degree in international business. Also, he is apart of The National Society of Leadership and Success. Chase hopes to utilize his creativity to help the ITAC reach out to more companies and to help the center grow.
Reach Chase at (216)-875-9807 or j.c.farley80@csuohio.edu
STORIES OF SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS IN EXPORT
The Daavlin Company is a small medical device company specializing in phototherapy. It exports to over 70 countries and territories from its modest but efficient headquarters in rural Bryan, OH (pop. 8,210). All Daavlin phototherapy sales and marketing activities are conducted from this office through a network of exclusive international distributors. They ship to many popular export destinations such as Canada, Mexico and Germany. But they also export to many "underserved markets" such as Brunei, Pakistan and Iran among many others. In the case of Iran in particular, a special export license was required that took three years to obtain, but Daavlin was persistent and ultimately won the right to sell. 
President David W. Swanson (above) serves as an
advocate of small business expansion into foreign markets.
Monte Ahuja College of Business
1860 E. 18th Street, BU401
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
Phone: 216-875-9715
Fax: 216-687-9354
ITAC Services hosted at Cleveland State University are made possible by support from the Ohio Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA).
ODSA works to support Ohio's businesses, large and small, as they maneuver in the global economy. Whether a company is established in the state and looking to expand, a technology company ready to move from the lab to commercialization, or an entrepreneur establishing a new small retail business, ODSA has resources to assist these businesses as they grow. ODSA resources include the Small Business Development Centers, the Minority Business Development Centers, and International Trade Assistance Centers, as well as the Small and Minority Business Financial Incentives Programs, and Ohio Third Frontier.
- SBDC
- Schedule an appointment with an SBDC representative
- Ohio Development Services Agency Business Website
- About us
- Academic Programs
- Faculty & Research
- Outreach & Business Centers
- Global Business Center
- GlobalTarget Program
- GlobalGateway Series
- ITAC
- Prospective Students
- Current Students
- Alumni Network
Cleveland State University
Executive Development Center
2121 Euclid Avenue, BU 327
Cleveland, OH 44115-2214
The Global Business Center
Monte Ahuja Hall, Rm. 327
1860 East 18th Street
Phone: 216.687.4750
Fax: 216.687.9331
gbc@csuohio.edu