State honors Altronic for exporting product

GIRARD -- Altronic has been honored by the state for the exporting of its ignition systems for industrial gas-powered engines.
Gov. Bob Taft presented the Girard-based company and 27 others Thursday with the Governor's Excellence in Exporting Award. The Exporter of the Year Award was given to DaimlerChrysler's Toledo Assembly Complex, which makes the Jeep Liberty.
Each year, the state honors companies that have increased sales volumes through exporting.
Keith Brooks, Altronic's sales manager for original equipment manufacturers, said exports made up 27 percent of Altronic sales last year, compared with 22 percent in 2000.
Company officials decided a couple years ago to try to boost international sales, so they began dealing with an international distributor. The company's biggest foreign market is Europe, but it has sales around the world, including in Asia and South America.
Altronic employs 125 in Girard.