The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) today awarded Aquatech International its first-ever Make More in America Deal of the Year Award at its 2023 Annual Conference.
EXIM has awarded this to Aquatech in recognition of an export transaction that was authorized as a result of EXIM’s flagship initiative, Make More in America (MMIA), and the impact it has for U.S. exporters looking to expand their domestic manufacturing capabilities. Make More in America is a direct result of President Biden’s Executive Order 14017 on Securing America’s Supply Chains which specifically charges EXIM with developing a tool designed to leverage the Bank’s financing capabilities to spur domestic manufacturing.
I am thrilled to be awarding our first-ever Make More in America Deal of the Year Award to Aquatech, said EXIM President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis. This deal exemplifies how our Make More in America initiative can support American manufacturers and highlights EXIM’s efforts to advance key Biden-Harris Administration priorities to reshore good paying jobs and bolster American manufacturing, all while helping U.S. companies grow through exporting.
Founded in 1981, Canonsburg, PA-based Aquatech is a small, minority-owned business that has grown into a global leader in water purification technology for industrial and infrastructure markets.
The EXIM Board of Directors approved its first Make More in America deal in August, which includes a direct loan of more than $4.7 million to support the purchase of services and laboratory equipment to modernize and expand Aquatech’s existing Applied Testing and Development Laboratories in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The transaction will also support 10 construction jobs and eight new jobs at Aquatech, allowing the company to continue competing to win significant contracts to supply foreign and domestic lithium extraction projects.
We applaud EXIM for equipping businesses like Aquatech with the critical tools to grow exports, create American jobs, fortify crucial electric vehicle supply chains, and support American critical minerals security, said Aquatech Executive Chairman, Venkee Sharma. The financing provided by EXIM will support the expansion of Aquatech’s Applied Testing and Development facilities to provide valuable support to scale up lithium extraction and processing in the United States and globally, as well as help support our customers with energy transition and climate adaptation. We are fortunate to have a 30-plus year relationship with EXIM Bank, and the MMIA initiative only further highlights the synergy of public-private cooperation in enhancing American manufacturing competitiveness.
EXIM Bank is an independent federal agency that provides competitive and necessary export credit to overseas purchasers of U.S. exports to promote and support American jobs. A robust and fully functioning EXIM Bank can assist the United States in leveling the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive the support of their national export credit agencies. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth and the support of more than a million jobs through the support of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) around the country. Since 2000, EXIM Bank has provided $14.6 billion to the U.S. Treasury after paying for all of its administrative and program expenses.
For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.
The Board of Directors of EXIM approved a direct loan for more than $4.7 million, marking the first transaction authorized under the Make More in America Initiative.
Aquatech's Executive Chairmen, Venkee Sharma, was re-appointed to serve on the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) 2023-2024 Advisory Committee.