BAA’S BIGGEST event to boost the local economy is looming on the horizon again and businesses from the borough are being encouraged that now is the time to book a place for your company.

The sixth annual ‘Meet the Buyers’ event will be held on November 11th and 12th and, according to a report by Business to Business, will help generate over £14 million for local businesses.

‘Meet the Buyers’ provides a forum which allows local companies to introduce their products to major buyers from around the airport and is the largest event of it’s kind in the UK. It has generated around £50m of new business since it first began six years ago.

The estimates from last year’s event are based on results from a six month survey of those companies who attended the ‘Meet the Buyers’ event in November. According to the report, the two-day event proved very successful for both the airport-related organisations who attended as buyers, plus those local businesses who visited the event with the aim of winning new business.

Around 450 suppliers attended the event from 307 different companies and about 5,000 business appointments were made between local businesses and airport companies over the course of last year’s event.

The event is unique because it reverses the traditional concept of exhibitions by placing the potential buyers on the stands for relevant local suppliers to sell to in a series of pre-arranged appointments. Suppliers are matched to the buyers' purchasing requirements in advance of the event which saves the companies valuable time looking for suitable suppliers.

‘Meet the Buyers’ is a partnership between BAA Heathrow, Business Link for London, Business Link for Surrey and the five local authorities of Hillingdon, Hounslow, Ealing, Spelthorne and Slough.

As well as major airlines such as American Airlines and British Airways, many of the Terminal 5 contractors including Laing O’Rourke, AMEC and Morgan Vinci were also represented at last year's event providing an exclusive opportunity for local businesses to benefit from this major construction programme.

Companies who would like details on how to participate in this year’s ‘Meet the Buyers’ event should contact Rian Lamb of Business to Business on 020 7700 0008 or visit the website at www.meetthebuyers.co.uk.