Mayor Dave Hodgson launched Bedford Borough’s first ‘Meet the Buyer’ event, where small local firms got the chance to meet buyers from nine major local organisations, at the Barns Hotel in Bedford last week. The event was designed to give small local firms, who do not usually have access to major buyers, the chance to develop contacts and seek to develop potentially lucrative relationships with the larger organisations.

The major buyers attending the event included Wells & Young’s, Bourns, Lockheed Martin, Autoglass, Axis Electronics, University of Bedfordshire, London Luton Airport, Bedford Borough Council, and General Motors.

Mayor Dave Hodgson, who has campaigned for both businesses and individuals to ‘buy local’ to support businesses in the Borough, has declared that the event must be the first of many designed to boost local procurement. Commenting, he said: “”In the current financial climate it’s essential that we do all we can to help local businesses. That’s why this excellent event must be the first in a series to take place to support local small and medium sized firms and provide them with the sort of access to major buyers that they wouldn’t usually have. I hope to hear of many cases of local firms developing their contacts and securing work which will help them prosper, and will in turn help create jobs and wealth in Bedford Borough.”

The Meet the Buyer Event was held at the Barns Hotel in Bedford on 25th November from 2 p.m, and was supported by the Bedford Borough Council through the Bedford Development Agency. Early feedback from the event from both buyers and suppliers has been positive.