The U.S. Department of Commerce's Export Achievement Award has been awarded to the Echelon Corporation. The U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service is an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce which sponsors the Export Achievement Award. International trade and export growth are promoted by the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service by working directly with U.S. companies. U.S. businesses that have achieved competitive success in international markets are also recognized by the agency.

The award was presented to the chairman and CEO of Echelon Corporation, Ron Sege, by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren. The award was presented at a ceremony held at San Jose State University in San Jose, California on November 28.

A pioneer in energy control networking systems, Echelon’s mission is to improve the networking systems for improving the efficiency of energy distribution systems. Managing energy usage in an intelligent and dynamic fashion is also a mission of the company. The company has its headquarters in Silicon Valley. Over 70 percent of its revenue in 2010 was however generated from outside the U.S.

In a release, Sege said, "It is an honor for us to receive this prestigious award. As international opportunities continue to increase for Echelon, exporting has become a large part of our growth strategy. Our approach of targeting countries with immediate, critical energy conservation needs is proving very effective."

According to Sege, based on regional needs, the company sells energy control networking systems, sub-systems, or components through its flexible sales strategy. The company has therefore bagged important projects in Europe, Russia, Japan, Brazil and China.

Sege said, "We are proud of what we've accomplished worldwide with our proven, open standard, multi-application solutions, and we could not have done it without the hard work and dedication of our employees and the support of the U.S. Department of Commerce and particularly the staff of the Silicon Valley office of the U.S. Commercial Service."