Ventura to Be Site of Export Aid Center

One of 30 new centers designed to help businesses across the country increase their exports has been slated for Ventura County, federal officials said Thursday.

The Export Assistance Center will be part of a new federal program to provide small and mid-sized businesses with information and financial assistance to help them find customers abroad.

Increasing exports is a key to creating new jobs in Ventura County, local and federal officials said.

“There is a strong link, especially in California, between exports and jobs,” said Jana Goldsworthy de Ruyter, executive director of the California Central Coast World Trade Center, a nonprofit group that provides trade assistance.

Exports account for one in every seven jobs in California, she said.

Added exports would not only increase manufacturing and agricultural jobs here, she said. They would also heighten the demand for workers at the Port of Hueneme and for truckers who carry products to and from the port.

The new Ventura office, which is expected to open by the end of 1995, will provide a range of services--including marketing and financial assistance--to local businesses looking to increase their exports.

U. S. Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown will publicly announce plans today to open a network of export assistance centers nationwide--all linked by computer, according to Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills).

An exact location for the Ventura office has not yet been selected, but an official at the Department of Commerce said Thursday that the center will include representatives from Commerce, the U. S. Small Business Administration and the Export-Import Bank of the U. S.

“These are just the kind of services we need here,” Goldsworthy de Ruyter said. “The addition of this kind of facility should have a strong positive influence on our economy.”