BSB Receives Award for Expansion into Global Marketplace

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorDes Moines, Iowa–BSB Design received the Export Achievement Certificate from the U.S. Department of Commerce at the 11th Annual Capital City Consular Corps luncheon in Sacramento, Calif., for its expansion into the global marketplace.The international architecture and community planning firm officially decided to go global 20 months ago. The company’s leaders met with George Tastard, director of U.S. Commercial Services, and committed the firm to expansion beyond the continental U.S. BSB Design President Steve Moore says, “We wanted to expand into global markets for years but never took the crucial first steps for fear of doing it wrong. After meeting with Tastard, we had a much clearer understanding of how to proceed. We are thrilled with the progress we’ve made, and that success is certainly due in part to the guidance we received from U.S. Commercial Services.” BSB Design has now landed jobs in Mexico, China, Korea and the Philippines. The company is also working on proposals for several other countries around the globe. “We decided that there was a need for diversification and part of it was a geographical decision,” Kerrin West, partner in charge of BSB Design’s western regional office, tells MHN. “With the way the housing market in the U.S. is doing right now, the expansion into other markets is a great opportunity for us.”West, who accepted the award from Ambassador Charles S. Shapiro, says, “It was an amazing event. Being recognized in front of dignitaries from around the world was an amazing feeling. I felt a lot of pride in standing there. Our folks have worked very hard at making us a global company.”In early 2008, BSB Design conducted two Gold Keys in China and Mexico. West felt that without the Gold Key service, the firm’s international success, while achievable, would have taken much longer. “The Gold Key service is tremendous. It is an introduction to the ‘Who’s Who’ in the construction industry in each selected country. Through this service, we met some amazing and visionary people who are now (or soon will be) our clients.”The company will focus on the Pacific Rim region and Latin America for now.