By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-967451.mp3
Springfield, MA –
A new statewide initiative, supported by the Patrick administration, encourages Massachusetts companies to purchase goods and services from other Massachusetts employers. A first of its kind matchmaking event was held Thursday in Springfield. WAMC"s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports..
Representatives of Raytheon, the Massachusetts based global defense contractor held private one on one meetings with 15 small companies from Western Massachusetts Thursday in the first business to business meetings arranged by the public-private collaboration called BuyMass.
Allan Blair, the president of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts called the networking opportunity exciting
Blair said having a large original equipment manufacturer, like Raytheon, hire small companies in western Massachusetts as subcontractors would be the best of economic development for the region..
The BuyMass initiative was launched about a year ago by the Patrick Adminstration and Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the state's largest employer association. Christoper Geehern, an executive vice president with AIM says it came about as a result of a conversation he had with the CEO of a company in Worcester. The company was about to buy a part from China, when it was discovered by chance that a company, just twenty miles away, could supply the same part at a competitive price..
BuyMass maintains an online business to business directory which currently has more than six thousand listings
Gregory Bialecki, the Patrick administration's Secretary of Housing and Economic Development says BuyMass is focused on manufacturing, a sector of the state's economy that has lost a large number of jobs in the last decade. And while the administration encourages in- state business partnerships, he is quick to add that large corporations should not feel obligated to do business with local companies.
Dennis Austin, director of state government relations for Raytheon says the 23 billion dollar global company does about 600 million dollars in business with other Massachusetts based companies..
Ben Rubino, of C and D Electronics of Holyoke, a company that distributes component parts for circuit boards got a meeting with Raytheon representatives Thursday.
BuyMass officials say they are planning a second matchmaking event in western Massachusetts.