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Manhasset Specialty Company: Music Manufacturer Benefits from Ex-Im Bank

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Based in Yakima, Washington, Manhasset Specialty Company has been designing and manufacturing concert-style music stands and accessories since 1935. The employee-owned business takes its name from Manhasset, New York, where the small manufacturer was originally founded. All of its products are made in America, and they are known for meticulous quality.

In the late 1990s, the firm decided it was time to get serious about exporting its products to distributors abroad. It was a challenge, since Manhasset’s products were largely unknown in many other parts of the world. Foreign wholesale customers were hesitant to buy products in quantities without credit terms. Also, since shipping costs for small orders are relatively higher than for large orders, Manhasset found that if their products were not shipped in full containers, the shipping costs became another obstacle to breaking into new markets.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) has helped Manhasset solve this problem. Like many small manufacturers, Manhasset relies on the Bank for insurance. It enables the company to offer competitive credit to international buyers and cuts the risk of nonpayment, by providing protection of 95 percent of credit. Manhasset’s foreign buyers have never defaulted, but the manufacturer could not have afforded the credit risk without this insurance.

 

 

Congress periodically is required to renew the Bank’s charter, and that has become a contentious issue. The Bank’s advocates point to Manhasset Specialty Company, and other manufacturers of all sizes, as reasons that the Bank is a win-win for U.S. taxpayers and manufacturers.

Thanks to its success in penetrating foreign markets, it now uses the tagline: “The World is Our Stage.” The company also makes stand carts (which make it easy to move multiple stands), drummer stands (which allow a drummer to read music without turning his or her head away from the drums), LED-lit music stands, and wide-desk stands. The year 2015 marks the company’s 80th anniversary.