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The companies we assist make the world a better place.
If you are not able to support us through Membership or Sponsorship, please consider making a charitable donation to assist in realizing our Mission — To bring growth and prosperity to businesses, communities, and neighborhoods in Greater Philadelphia and worldwide through global trade and investment.
The companies we assist make the world a better place.
If you are not able to support us through Membership or Sponsorship, please consider making a charitable donation to assist in realizing our Mission — To bring growth and prosperity to businesses, communities, and neighborhoods in Greater Philadelphia and worldwide through global trade and investment.
Bridging Education and Innovation: Jeff Ji's Vision at U-COM
Bridging Education and Innovation
Under his leadership, U-COM has become a crucial partner for more than 35 schools in the Greater Philadelphia area, playing a pivotal role in the digital transformation of the K-12 education sector. With over 270 federal contracts secured since 1999, U-COM has helped usher in a new era of blended learning, making technology an integral part of the classroom experience.
Jeff’s passion doesn’t end with enhancing education. He has also made significant strides in international tourism through his venture, Knighthawk Tours, which offered unique Harley-Davidson experiences in China and the United States. This initiative has not only broadened the appeal of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in China but also forged stronger cultural ties between the two countries.
Reflecting on his journey, Jeff acknowledges the vital role that WTCGP has played in his company’s success. “The momentum that WTCGP built for us continues to carry us forward,” Jeff notes. “Their support has been invaluable in expanding our reach in the U.S. and China.”
In April 2024, Jeff’s active engagement with the WTCGP was further highlighted during a significant meeting between the World Trade Centers of Greater Philadelphia and Tianjin. Jeff was a key participant in discussions aimed at deepening business ties between the two cities, showcasing his ongoing dedication to fostering global connections.
As Jeff Ji receives the Member Company of the Year Award at the upcoming WTC Day Celebration, his story stands as a powerful example of how one individual’s vision and commitment can bridge industries, cultures, and communities. Jeff has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to global trade and collaboration through his leadership at U-COM and his active role as a WTCGP member.
Executive Vice-President Alex Strange, Great, Great, Great Grandson of Bassetts Ice Cream Founder is Committed to Upholding His Family’s Legacy Around the Globe
Executive Vice-President Alex Strange, Great, Great, Great Grandson of Bassetts Ice Cream Founder is Committed to Upholding His Family’s Legacy Around the Globe
Alex Strange doesn’t know what his great, great, great grandfather would say if he knew that Bassetts ice cream is now being sold in China, Taiwan, and South Korea. “The world was so different in 1861. To explain that our ice cream is still made in Pennsylvania and shipped to Taiwan. I hope he would be proud,” Alex explains.
It’s certain that Louis Dubois Bassett, a Quaker teacher and farmer in Salem, New Jersey had no idea his unique ice cream recipe would become an international commercial success in countries historically not known for including ice cream on the menu. It was 1861 and Abraham Lincoln was serving his first term as President, when back on the farm, Dubois’ mules were churning small batches of the savory ice cream. In 1885 Dubois opened a retail location at 5th and Market Street in Philadelphia.
Bassetts Founder, Louis Dubois Bassett
When Reading Terminal Market opened its doors in 1892, Bassetts moved its retail store and started production in the store’s basement. Today, Bassetts is the last remaining original merchant at Reading Terminal and is known as “America’s Oldest Ice Cream.”
What makes Bassetts Ice Cream so deliciously creamy?
“We use a 16.5% butterfat recipe that incorporates the highest quality dairy and flavoring ingredients.”
When President Barack Obama visited Bassetts, he ordered mint chocolate chip but with over thirty-five ice cream flavors, vanilla continues to be the most popular, “we source our vanilla beans from Madagascar,” says Alex. “In fact, several years ago storms in Madagascar had caused a shortage of vanilla and prices worldwide were through the roof, exceeding the price of silver. A lot of companies turned to Mexico and other sources for vanilla, but we would never affect the quality of our ice cream or deviate from my great grandfather’s original recipe.”
Alex first started learning about the family business when he started working summers during high school. “I was living in Memphis and would come to Philadelphia to stay with my uncle. I scooped my first cone as a professional at the store at Reading Terminal Market when I was fifteen. “
In May 2008, Bassetts first order of ice cream was sent by container ship to Beijing, China. President and CEO, Michael Strange worked with Sung Gongyun (James Sun) to establish the Beijing Sino-American Food Company which now has a retail locations and distribution to restaurants, hotels, and grocery stores.
That might explain how Alex spent one high school summer. “I ended up working a third shift production job for a project we were doing for China— making moon cakes. We had these chocolate molds, and it would make a shell and we would fill it with Bassetts vanilla ice cream with a raspberry sorbet center. Nights were long. Our production was running 24 hours per day. But I loved it.”
“The next year I became a driver, delivering products all over Philadelphia. I got to experience the wholesale side of the business and interacted with kitchen staff and chefs and got to see what all these different kitchens looked like,” Alex says with a smile. “Uncle Michael also taught me our accounting system one year.”
Alex had the opportunity to sit with his late grandmother Ann Bassett to learn more about the family history. Ann Bassett is known as the driving force behind the company’s expansion and as President she incorporated the wholesale business in 1977 and expanded distribution to New York and other parts of the country.
“I still call my Uncle Roger often.” Roger Bassett is the former General Manager of Retail Operations and once owned the retail store at Reading Terminal Market for many years.
As Executive Vice President, Alex is responsible for the day-to-day operations. “We all do what needs to get done. We empower our team to be nimble and take care of customer needs as quickly as possible. I often answer incoming calls and handle the issue myself.
Alex also gets involved in the international side of the business which continues to grow In 2017, the very first Bassetts Ice Cream store was unveiled in South Korea. Harbour Buffet Restaurant, Taiwan’s all-you-can-eat restaurant chain has included Bassetts Ice Cream on their menu at seven locations since 2020.
“If it wasn’t for the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP), we would not be exporting,” Alex confirms. “The WTCGP has guided us and been there when we needed them. Dale (Dale Foote, International Trade Specialist) just recently helped us with a labeling issue which would have delayed our delivery.
Alex has learned the process to ship Bassetts across the ocean. “It takes about 45 days to ship ice cream from port to port and then a few more weeks in customs before our customers receive the shipment. Ice cream needs to be held in negative 20-degree Fahrenheit temperatures, the colder the better. And he adds, “it is actually cheaper for us to ship ice cream to Southeast Asia than it is to ship to Florida.
We ship to Florida by pallet and the domestic LTL (Less than Trailer Load) requires several stops. It’s more economical to ship an entire container.” “All of our product is first transported from our facility to a reefer truck, which is a giant air-conditioned unit with controls where we can monitor the temperature over the duration of the journey.”
The Bassetts American brand is widely enjoyed in Southeast Asia markets, and there are preferences. “American customers tend to want the rich chocolate flavors but in China and Taiwan for instance, they prefer our fruit and nut flavors. When I was at a show in South Korea, we ran out of Macadamia nut before all the other flavors.”
“You also need to know customs and protocol for these countries,” Alex explains. “When someone hands you a business card, use two hands to accept it and take the time to read the card. It is disrespectful to just put it in your pocket. “ Before joining Bassetts full-time, Alex spent two years after college working at Hormel Foods where he gained important skills. “I wanted someone who wasn’t sharing my last name to tell me how I was doing.”
“I started as a smoke house manager where we were responsible for taking raw lunch meats to a ready to eat product. It is a very critical process.” “After a few months I was promoted to the stuffing department where I was responsible for fifteen people and then I was promoted again and managed a 25-person team. At one point, I was running three departments. It was a great experience. After that time, I called my uncle Michael and told him I was ready to come back.”
What’s next for Bassetts?
“This year has been great, even though dairy costs continue to rise, and it is the highest it’s ever been, we stay on top of costs. We are always looking to expand into other markets and WTCGP and the Authorized Trade Representatives are helping.”
“My grandmother and Uncle Michael would tell me that if the bank needs money, you can’t send ice cream cones.” Just about every morning you can find Alex Strange behind the ice cream counter at Reading Terminal. “Even with all of these things we need to keep track of, I still need to start my day at the store engaging with customers. I love ice cream. It’s fun!”
Sycamore International: Keeping E-Waste out of Landfills by Providing Sustainable Solutions
Sycamore International: Keeping E-Waste out of Landfills by Providing Sustainable Solutions
What do consumers, schools, companies, and organizations do when electronic devices and gadgets stop working or become obsolete? Unfortunately, America has garnered a reputation as a “throw-away society.” The World Health Organization stated that E-waste is the fastest growing solid waste stream in the world.
Over the last few years, the media has used the term “E-Waste” to report growing health and environmental issues. Electronic devices contain hazardous chemicals that can harm both humans and the environment when improperly disposed of. Sycamore International is dedicated to providing sustainable solutions for e-waste management. By offering services such as recycling and refurbishment, they ensure that valuable materials are recovered and harmful substances are disposed of safely.
As a leader in the industry, Sycamore International partners with businesses to develop eco-friendly practices that not only benefit the environment but also promote corporate responsibility. Their mission is to reduce the volume of e-waste that ends up in landfills and to educate the public about the importance of responsible electronic waste disposal.
GELLIARTS: REINVENTED PRINT MAKING TO BRING HAPPINESS TO THE WORLD
GELLIARTS: REINVENTED PRINT MAKING TO BRING HAPPINESS TO THE WORLD
Artist Joan Bess took a slab of Jello out of the refrigerator as her friend, Lou Ann Gleason watched. “She laid the jello slab on her kitchen counter and began to apply acrylic paint to the surface – rolling the paint out with a brayer. Then she took a comb and ran through acrylic paint on the jello slab making an interesting swirling design. She then laid a piece of paper on top of the jello slab and pressed the paper with her hands onto the Jello surface, transferring the image from the jello slab to her paper. She then removed the paper to reveal a beautiful art piece, “explained Lou Ann.
“Joan is a mixed media artist and I have watched her work with all kinds of materials to create beautiful work. We talked about how Jello was a great surface to print with but it’s perishable and you have to keep it in your refrigerator. Joan envisioned a durable reusable slab that would mimic the printing on Jello - the idea for GelliArts. We hoped we could reinvent printmaking and make it affordable for everyone.”
Lou Ann spent 15 years marketing brands at Proctor and Gamble and launching new products. Together with Joan, an accomplished artist, the duo knew they would be able to turn this simple slab of Jello into a sustainable print surface. In 2011 they decided to launch their own business. “Within six months we had our own website and artists started to find us,” says Lou Ann. Picture
GelliArts manufactures Gelli® Printing Plates products in a facility in Exton, PA. “We are proudly made in the USA.” Printing plates vary in size and shape and take about eight hours to manufacture.
“We make our own environmentally safe gel and have perfected the process over the years to produce a very durable and reusable plate. Over half of our customers own over 5 plates of multiple sizes.”
In addition to gel printing plates, GelliArts sells rollers and stencils to build one-of-a-kind designs. Ninety percent of GelliArts customers are women with an average age of 50 plus. “Our artist customers are either card makers, paper crafters or collage artists, fine artists and many teach art in some form.”
When the pandemic hit GelliArts found new customers organically. “We would receive orders and letters from women telling us how we saved their sanity.” Through social media and online forums, women from zero experience to accomplished artists found each other. “It would take a novice about ten minutes to figure out the process. We have simple instructions in every package and many videos on how to get started. We also use acrylic paint because it is affordable.”
Lou Ann also knew that art teachers would love their products, so she started attending teacher conferences where she found a new customer base – art educators who were looking for an easy product to keep students engaged and away from their cell phones. Before discovering GelliArts, art teachers would use linoleum blocks to create plates which was dangerous and tedious.
“At the National Art Educators Association, we were able to sign up teachers across 40 states. We hire local art teachers who teach the teachers how to use the plates. One Texas teacher said it is so exciting for her high school students to receive instant gratification from their unique designs.
The GelliArts website provides free lesson plans for grades 1 to 12 as well as tutorials for home projects.
As an online store with a presence on Facebook and Instagram, GelliArts was attracting customers internationally. “When a distributor in the UK called and asked to distribute our products that is when our international business began to take off.”
And Lou Ann took it a step further. “We then went to our first international trade show in Frankfurt Germany in 2015 where we proudly won the Creative Impulse Tool of the Year Award. We were able to drive awareness at the gigantic show by winning the Award. We also won it in 2016 too.”
Lou Ann then met Dale Foote, WTCGP International Trade Specialist. Dale invited Lou Ann to participate in the WTCGP Selling to the World initiative, a new program designed to restore and expand the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), both established exporters and new-to-exporting companies. The program is also designed to increase global access and opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses (MWBEs).
“While attending the Selling to the World classes, I met a contact I am now doing business with.”
Lou Ann is grateful for Dale’s counseling, “Dale provides advice on any problems I have and provides contacts that help me with issues like Distributor agreements. He has included me in meetings with international partners who in turn have helped us identify opportunities in their own countries. Right now, I am working on an agreement with a new distributor in Australia that would not be happening without Dale’s assistance. Dale has also provided guidance on securing funds to help defray the cost of participating in an international tradeshow.”
GelliArts is currently distributed in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, and Croatia. In the United States, GelliArts can be found in Michaels and Joanne’s retail stores.
“Our products have created communities and brought joy to so many. Our very first case of products was sent to a nursing home for residents to enjoy. We continue to donate to hospitals for artists to work with patients in isolation needing something creative to do.”
Lou Ann recalls the first time she created a print design, “when I pulled my first print, I knew I could frame it and put it on my wall – it was so pretty. From that whole experience, I said – this is super cool.”
The mission of GelliArts is simple, “get everyone printing and it will be a much happier world.”