ATEK fixed its website before chasing exports—and international users rose 143%
International business story | A Minnesota distributor turned website globalization into a year-long, measurable project.
Editorial desk
ATEK Distribution in Minnesota began with a direct question: how could it increase export sales? The company distributes electrical and maintenance, repair and operations products to government and enterprise customers. A US Department of Commerce case dated 20 May 2026 shows that ATEK first examined whether international buyers could find, understand and trust its website, rather than simply buying more advertising.
ATEK used the US Commercial Service’s Website Globalization Review Gap Analysis. The review does not promise orders; it identifies gaps between a domestic website and the needs of a broader global audience. For a smaller exporter, that means looking beyond translation to product naming, search behaviour, use cases and the route from a page to a credible enquiry.
The work was not a single consultation. The official case says the Commercial Service office in Minnesota collaborated with ATEK for more than a year. That timeframe reflects the practical work of organising information, editing content, making technical changes and observing results. Changing only a homepage headline would not reveal where buyers were dropping out.
Advisers also worked with ATEK’s web designer, Blu Dragonfly, providing practical technical, aesthetic and social-media advice. The arrangement matters because export staff understand customers and markets while designers control implementation. A shared issue list helps ensure that research becomes testable page changes instead of remaining in a report.
The published quantitative result is a 143% increase in active website users, most of whom were international. This is a traffic and engagement measure, not a disclosed figure for export revenue, profit or completed orders. It supports the conclusion that the site reached more overseas users, but another company should not project the same percentage onto sales.
ATEK president Jeff Anderson said domain authority more than doubled within months and international active users surged, driving new international opportunities and measurable business growth. That is the company’s account. The official page does not disclose new revenue, order counts or destination countries, so those details should not be invented.
A useful first step is to select three priority product pages and record current overseas traffic, search terms, engagement and enquiries. Market and web staff can then review naming, units, delivery scope, trust evidence and contact paths together, before comparing results four weeks later. This cannot guarantee exports, but it turns a vague website problem into a measurable improvement list.
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Some images in this article are generated illustrations.