Veteran Owned Company Increases Exports to Allied Nations

In 2013, Major Alejandro Ramirez founded Universal Spartan after completing a distinguished 22-year career in the U.S. Army, including three deployments. Headquartered in Vine Grove, Kentucky, Universal Spartan is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business specializing in tactical, IT, electrical, industrial, and medical equipment for the federal government and the global defense industry. 

Universal Spartan started from humble beginnings first being a web shop for Mr. Ramirez to sell equipment. After a colleague’s recommendation, he began selling to the United States Federal Government. As Universal Spartan continued to increase domestic sales, he began to research opportunities to diversify their sales channels and was introduced to Brian Miller, a Trade Specialist with the U.S. Commercial Service in Louisville, Kentucky. Impressed by Miller’s expertise in export markets and resources available through the U.S. Commercial Service, Ramirez quickly began collaborating to develop a robust export business plan. Mr. Ramirez leveraged several service offerings including multiple Gold Key Service (GKS). The GKS provided Universal Spartan with matchmaking appointments in several foreign markets. This service also included identification and outreach to potential matching firms, sending clients’ information to identified matching firms, preparing a profile of interested firms, attending the appointments, and providing a report with the profile and contact information for interested firms. The meetings facilitated through the GKS services connected Mr. Ramirez with potential consumers in several new markets that were previously untapped by his company. 

“The U.S. Commercial Service has been a great tool and resource in growing our company to make inroads to markets overseas.” - Alejandro Ramirez, Founder, Universal Spartan

Mr. Ramirez has skillfully leveraged his military experience, and the resources provided by the Commercial Service to drive the growth of his business. His extensive global network, built over years of dedicated service, has been instrumental in expanding Universal Spartan. These long-standing relationships underscore the lasting influence of his military career. Additionally, Ramirez has benefited from the other business resources such as the Veterans Institute for Procurement (VIP) program, an International Trade Administration Strategic Partner, which equips veteran-owned businesses with the knowledge needed to navigate the competitive federal procurement landscape. Leveraging these resources, Universal Spartan has achieved effective engagement with international markets.

There are two things that Mr. Ramirez says a new veteran owned company should do. “The first is, if you say you’re going to do it then do it. His second piece of advice is to always do an after-action review to learn from your mistakes.”- Alejandro Ramirez, Founder, Universal Spartan

Through all their successes, Universal Spartan received recognition from the state of Kentucky, receiving the Small Business Administration 2018 Kentucky Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year Award by Governor Matthew Bevin.  Then in 2020 Major Ramirez was personally awarded NaVOBA’s Hispanic Veteran’s Business Enterprise® of the Year Award. Universal Spartan, as of 2021 is ranked on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Finally, in 2022 Mr. Ramirez was recognized as Kentucky Small Business Administration Person of the Year and Vet100 which a list of the 100 fastest-growing veteran-owned or operated businesses in the United States.

Company Location: Vine Grove, Kentucky
Company Website: https://universalspartan.com/
Local Office: Louisville, Kentucky
Trade Specialist: Brian.Miller@trade.gov 
Services: Export Counseling, Gold Key Service