For the asphalt equipment maker Astec Industries, the road to prosperity is increasingly being paved outside of the United States.
The Chattanooga-based manufacturer has more than tripled its share of sales from exports over the past five years, growing exports in the second quarter to nearly 44 percent of all sales.
"We realized four or five years ago that for us to truly grow we had to look internationally," said Ben Brock, the president of Astec Inc., who has traveled to 44 countries selling Astec equipment and partnerships since 2006. "Our goal is that anywhere that the sun is up, people in our industry are talking about Astec," he said
Astec has grown its international sales staff from seven to 36 in the past five years "and we’re adding about one more a month," Brock said.
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