TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) – A large portion of Arizona’s economy depends on international trade – with Mexico and the rest of the world – and all of that trade is booming.

Made in America is an important message on the boxes that Cloud Microphones will be shipping soon. This is an example of a Tucson company that has taken advantage of booming international business with Mexico and other countries.

Microphones in the cloudis dedicated to helping today’s musicians record with the warm, rich sound of classic ribbon microphones—the kind that legendary artists like Frank Sinatra used to create such memorable music.

Founder Rodger Cloud says: “If you listen to the music of the 1950s and 1960s, there was so much richness and depth to the sound and there was a kind of soul to the music that can get lost in the digital world. “

Rodger Cloud’s hand crafts the delicate interior that makes ribbon microphones special.

He created special amplifiers to connect ribbon microphones to modern equipment – or to transfer some of that special sound to other microphones.

Workers on the Navajo reservation do a lot of precision work in making the amplifiers.

It’s a company with international demand—a snapshot of the diversity that drives Arizona’s booming trade with Mexico and beyond.

Statistics U of A’s Eller School of Managementfor example, Arizona’s trade with the world was more than 60 billion dollars in 2022, which is 16 percent more than the year before.

More than 19 billion with Mexico representing more than 32% share.

In the ten years between 2012 and 2022, Arizona’s global trade jumped by more than 61 percent. Trade with Mexico jumped by more than 50 percent during that time.

Cloud says, “It takes a long and persistent effort. You know, it’s not for the faint of heart.”

He says building his business around the world requires making contacts in different countries and cultures and navigating regulations that protect his product from counterfeiting and imitation. He says the US Department of Commerce has been an important partner in his success.

“In Mexico, we’re up about 10 percent from last year, and you know, in past years, it’s started from scratch, and it seems like historically we’ve had about five to 10 percent growth a year.”

Rodger Cloud says he learned that Mexico is the largest importer of U.S.-made microphones, and that musicians in India, Japan and China want the quality they can get from his Tucson company.