Partner Article

Region’s firms get ready to meet the buyers

NORTH East businesses will have the chance to get in front of buyers from across the country, as part of the region’s largest business-to-business event.

Business people from across the region will meet with buyers from organisations including local councils, colleges and universities, as well as private businesses like Dobbies Garden World and Hilton Newcastle Gateshead at Business Exchange North East’s Meet the Buyers event.

Business Link’s two-day Business Exchange which runs on March 8 and 9 is expected to attract more than 2,000 business people from right across the North East, and it is hoped many of them will have the opportunity to win new contracts as a result. The event has proven to be a success in the past, with North East botanical drink producer Fentimans just one of the businesses that secured new customers after attending the event.

The Hexham based business secured contracts with Morrisons, National Trust, People’s Theatre, Glassworks and Starters & Puds after attending the first Business Exchange in 2009. The event provided the company with 14 one-to-one meetings with a range of influential buyers and eight of these resulted in new business or additional opportunities with existing clients.

Mr Wright added: “Business Exchange North East was very fruitful for Fentimans, boosting our business and providing an opportunity to make useful contacts. It was a fantastic, well organised event and definitely worth our time attending. Where else can you get 14 potentially lucrative sales meetings in one day?”

As well as meeting the buyers, businesses attending this year’s event will hear from a host of keynote speakers including Rosie Smith, the Bank of England’s agent for the North East and James Woudhuysen, a professor of forecasting and innovation at De Montfort University in Leicester.

The event will also allow time for companies to network and take part in practical workshops, with specific talks for industries including new and renewable energies; construction and engineering; and food and drink; as well as the service sector.

Alastair MacColl, chief executive of Business & Enterprise North East, the company that delivers the Business Link service in the region, said: “Business Exchange is always an incredibly popular event, and this year is set to be no exception.

“Businesses that take part in Meet the Buyers sessions will have the chance to get their products and services in front of procurement teams from a host of regional and national organisations. It is a fantastic opportunity for the North East’s businesses to showcase their great work.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .