SBA exporting programs help family-owned company bring critical iRecord technology to court rooms, medical facilities, and police stations around the world

WSI Technologies was founded in 1977 by Richard Barretto when he formed a company that sold Dictaphones. In the early years, Barretto and his team found their niche selling to the legal and medical industries and then branched into the court systems. As technology evolved, they evolved with it, expanding into analog then digital recording devices garnering interest from law enforcement circles, emergency management, and advocacy organizations. In 2006, WSI began receiving unsolicited interest from outside the United States—planting the seed that they could take their operations around the world. But as WSI President Jim Halsmer said, “We didn’t know what we didn’t know.”

Solution

“I started out with the Small Business Development Center,” Halsmer continued, “and they opened my eyes to other resources.” WSI began working the SBA resource partner counselors at the Central Indiana SBDC in 2014 requesting guidance on how to best operate in global waters and Halsmer said they have connected his team with a bevy of international growth training, funds, and resources.  In 2017, WSI completed the Export Indiana Accelerator Program, and connected with the Export Indiana Fellowship – providing them with research assistance and resources to develop a purposeful export strategy. In 2021, WSI took advantage of the U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Key Services and SBA-backed IN-STEP funding to support expansion efforts into Southeast Asia. WSI is currently working through a second engagement with IN-STEP which Halsmer said is providing funds to support language localization of their signature iRecord Software interface.

“We discovered that clients would prefer iRecord help in Thai or French-Canadian or Arabic or Dutch. We didn’t have that, and it was some-what pausing our ability to gain new clients. Now we have it and it’s a big hit and will have a big impact on our future sales.” 

Impact/Outcome

WSI Technologies was awarded SBA Indiana Exporter of the Year during National Small Business Week celebrations in 2024. They have a core team of 35 employees and have clients using iRecord technology in 12 countries outside the U.S. with deals pending in the Middle East and Dutch Colonial Islands. WSI continues working with SBA resource partners and are exploring expansion of their domestic footprint through federal contracting programs and SBIR/STTR research and development funding.   

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