Shreveport (LA) Mayor Cedric Glover recently presented Southland Printing Co. of Shreveport with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Export Achievement Certificate. The award is presented to businesses that have achieved growth and success in the international marketplace with export assistance from the department’s U.S. Commercial Service.
“Southland is a tireless contributor to the economic vitality of Shreveport, and is a true example of how to create jobs and prosperity through exporting,” Glover said in a Sept. 30 ceremony. “Through the National Export Initiative, President Obama is committed to expanding export opportunities, and small and medium-sized businesses such as Southland Printing will be the backbone of this effort.
“I congratulate this outstanding company for doing a job that is valuable to the American economy,” Glover said.
Southland, a 50-year-old, family-owned small business, specializes in manufacturing parking-related products – and specifically magnetic striped and barcode tickets for the automated parking industry. Toll road and mass transit tickets round out its product line.
The Shreveport company, which has been exporting since the late 1970s, currently is doing so to more than 48 foreign countries. Southland has more than 75 full-time employees, with many of them having 20-plus years of service with the company.
President John A. Manno Sr. said he is very proud of the fact that they have never had to lay off an employee and have experienced steady growth since the company was established in 1960. Currently working at his side are his wife, Angelina; son, John Jr.; and several grandchildren.
The company attributes a large part of its success to exporting, which it continues to promote and expand.
“We have benefited directly from help provided by the U.S. Commercial Service in finding overseas representation around the world,” said John A. Manno Jr., Vice President of Southland Printing. “Exporting has enabled us to diversify our customer base, which is a key to weathering the changing global economic conditions and sustaining our company’s growth for the long term.”
Southland Printing, which the city calls a vital contributor to the local economy, is currently moving forward with a major $2 million expansion involving an exciting new technology.
