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LONG BEACH, Miss. -- To Ernest Burdette, president of Triton Systems, earning a top exporter award in Mississippi for the company's rise in ATM shipments outside the U.S. last year is icing on a cake that is beginning to grow as tall as a multi-tiered wedding confection. Positioning itself as a major player in the international market, while working to continue boosting its growth in the U.S., leaves Triton's plate very full these days. Burdette said the award was a surprise. " We certainly had no idea we'd be in the running for it," he said. According to press releases issued by both Triton and the Mississippi District Export Council, Triton was named the state's top exporter based on the dollar volume of export sales relative to the company's size, marketing methods, objectives, and an apparent demonstration of leadership in enhancing its image as well as that of Mississippi. Triton has initiated a strategy that includes focusing on untapped areas of ATM deployment in foreign markets. Its first foreign breakthrough came in Canada, in 1998. Triton shipped 1,500 ATMs there last year, up from just five units in 1997. Burdette said Triton is also making inroads in Central and South American countries. "In terms of market penetration we think that we have done very, very well." To keep up with its growing opportunities in Latin America, Triton recently opened a Latin American sales office in Miami and hired a director of Latin American sales. "I think our presence in Latin America will become stronger over the coming 12 to 18 months," Burdette said. Triton will need to hone its ability to improve connectivity services in Latin and Central America. Third party dial-up systems aren't established yet, which poses an even greater challenge than language or cultural differences. To fix those problems, Triton plans to form partnerships with banks or other companies that could provide the connectivity needed for off-premise ATM deployment. For example, in Canada Triton partnered with Sun Life Trust to establish Calypso Canada, a processor. The company's increase in exports and the award arrive at the onset of its move to a new 88,000-square-foot facility in the Long Beach (Miss.) Industrial Park over the next four weeks. The move will enable Triton to combine its warehousing operations with its production, testing and shipping functions. Burdette added that Triton's engineering, sales support, administrative and general support services will eventually be moved to another facility as part of a second building phase that will bring all of its operations together. The number of employees will rise from 200 to 250 over the next 12 to 16 months. "I don't envision any dramatic growth, any doubling of size in a year or two," Burdette said. Although Triton plans to keep its eggs in the overseas basket, Burdette doesn't see the company growing to the powerhouse level of competitors NCR and Diebold any time soon. Rather, Triton is building a foundation for that kind of growth. He thinks that capitalizing on current resources may be the answer. "One of our challenges is to be able to support these new initiatives with our current staff," Burdette said. "It is a challenge, but one of the things that's made us successful is we've been able to operate as a lean company. The key is being able to support some of these activities and not let ourselves get too distracted."