BIRMINGHAM, AL — Induron Protective Coatings, Birmingham, Alabama, is one of about 100 U.S. companies and organizations heading to Latin America for the U.S. Department of Commerce-led Trade Winds–Latin America trade mission and business forum.

Trade Winds–Latin America features a three-day business forum in Santiago, Chile, plus optional trade mission stops in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. At each mission stop, attending companies will meet directly with government leaders, market experts and pre-vetted potential business partners in the region.

“The United States exported nearly $273 billion in goods in 2015 to the markets we’re visiting at Trade Winds,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Arun Kumar. “The companies and organizations participating in Trade Winds will connect to the most promising business opportunities in the region, and we are proud to have such a strong delegation.”

Induron is participating in the business forum in Santiago, Chile, and a mission stop in Mexico City.

Induron is an industrial pioneer of ceramic epoxy coatings for high-performance systems and potable water immersion. The company serves a range of industrial applications, including the wastewater; electrical transmission and distribution; and potable water storage, treatment and transmission industries.

“We are very excited about this unique opportunity to build upon our current successes and potentially add to our valued Latin American partners in Colombia and Peru,” said Davies Hood, President of Induron. “Induron will continue to grow not only nationally, but also internationally with the potential of new business partners in Mexico and Chile that fall in line with Induron’s mission.”

This is the ninth year the Department of Commerce’s U.S. Commercial Service has led Trade Winds, and the program has directly supported more than $239 million in U.S. exports in six global regions. The mission brought 100 companies to Latin America in 2014 and supported more than $11 million in U.S. exports.

Trade Winds is an important part of the United States’ Look South initiative, which encourages U.S. companies to explore opportunities with free trade agreement partners in Latin America. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the initiative in January 2014.