Report Finds Wisconsin Companies Improve Exports about One Percent.

Byline: Lee Hawkins Jr.

Nov. 28--Wisconsin companies boosted exports about 1 percent in the first three quarters of 2001, even as the global economic slowdown caused national exports to fall about 3 percent, according to a report issued Tuesday by Gov. Scott McCallum.

The boost pushed total exports to $7.7 billion, with the biggest gains in China and Switzerland, the report said.

On Monday, McCallum said he would travel to Mexico in December with a team of business leaders as part of a state-sponsored campaign to establish new relationships with partners abroad. Already, the state Department of Commerce has launched formal efforts to build …