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More than 200 SMEs look to join Heathrow Airport’s supply chain

Written by: Supply Chain Online
Published on: 10 Nov 2016
Category:

HEATHROW NEWS

More than 200 SMEs look to join Heathrow Airport’s supply chain

More than 200 small and medium businesses attended the Heathrow Business Summit this week in a bid to join Heathrow Airport’s supply chain.

The event, which celebrates its 20th anniversary, seeks to put SMEs in touch with the airport’s existing business partners. Using a speed-dating format, SME suppliers had a limited time to meet and pitch their products and services to Heathrow Airport’s major contractors.

Ian Ballentine, Heathrow’s Procurement Director, hosted a breakfast to start this year’s event.

Mr Ballentine said: “Heathrow is a cornerstone of the UK’s economic security, connecting businesses of all sizes with international markets across the globe.

“As a national asset, we are in a unique position to connect SMEs to local, national and international markets, and with expansion, we now have the opportunity to do even more. Heathrow expansion will create up to £211 billion in economic growth and up to 180,000 jobs across the UK.”

This week’s Heathrow Business Summit took place at the airport and was aimed at local businesses based in areas such as West London, Surrey and the Thames Valley. The event followed similar summits that were held in Leeds, Glasgow and Manchester earlier this year, meaning that SMEs from different parts of the UK have had a chance to get involved.

Heathrow Airport announced at the end of last month that the process of injecting an additional £50million into its supply chain before the end of 2017 had already commenced following the Government’s approval of plans to build a third runway at the site.

The airport also intends to award contracts worth a total of £460 million before construction of the new runway is due to start in 2021. Ninety-five per cent of this procurement spending will be within the UK’s supply chain, and 60 per cent is expected to be spent outside London.