Nashville Woman-Owned Company Founded on a Dream and a Mission, Expands to New Markets with EXIM

Founded on a dream and a mission, woman and minority-owned company DevMar Products, LLC embodies environmental initiatives that are designed to help sustain the planet for generations to come.

In 2007, Sharon W. Reynolds, President and CEO of the company, launched DevMar Products with an idea to distribute environmentally-friendly products, including green cleaning solutions and office products. Today, she is particularly excited about two innovative products with disinfecting absorbing qualities and the world’s first oil-only, hydrophobic ceramic floor sweep.

Located in Nashville, TN, the company distributes its cleaning and safety merchandise to healthcare, hospitality, and food-service industries to create healthier work environments.  

In 2012, Sharon launched DevMar Manufacturing, LLC as a means to manufacture the sustainable goods in-house, and to ultimately help reduce the carbon footprint created by everyday activities.

As a small business, with a global reach, DevMar Products has the capacity to service both small and large-scale companies. In 2016, when Sharon was ready to expand the company’s reach beyond the U.S., she learned about the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) through her contact at the Small Business Administration (SBA).

EXIM Bank now guarantees the payment of DevMar Products’ exports with a trade credit insurance policy.

The Bank specializes in providing insurance and loan guarantees for U.S. exporters to mitigate the risk of foreign buyer non-payment and to level the playing field among their competitors.

As a result, the multi-faceted business has the confidence and security to sale to new customers in Mexico and Canada, and is forecasted to bring on approximately 20 to 25 new employees in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017.  

“EXIM allows small businesses the opportunity to engage in a level playing field among its competitors,” said Sharon.

With a quality product and the added financial security to expand into international markets, Sharon’s company is able to introduce its leading cleaning options overseas this year.

Since 2009, EXIM Bank has authorized more loans to help grow minority- and women-owned businesses than it did over the previous sixteen years combined - making it the fastest growing sector in the Bank's small business portfolio.

EXIM also has a business development team devoted to minority and women-owned businesses (MWOBs), called the MWOB group, which works exclusively with these businesses to provide hands-on guidance on how to qualify for and access EXIM financing.

To find out more about EXIM financing and MWOB click here.

ABOUT EXIM BANK:

EXIM is an independent federal agency that supports and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees and export credit insurance, to promote the sale of U.S. goods and services abroad. Almost 90 percent of its transactions directly serve American small businesses.

In fiscal year 2016, EXIM approved $5 billion in total authorizations to support an estimated $8 billion in U.S. export sales. Since 2009, EXIM has supported more than 1.4 million American jobs in communities across the country and sent $3.8 billion of surplus to the U.S. Treasury for deficit reduction.