Speed dating for business

Business connections blossomed at the Bi-National Meet the Buyers event Wednesday.

About 114 companies selling products had the chance to rendezvous with about 20 companies that were looking to potentially buy products and services.

"This event created an opportunity for companies who are interested in working across borders to meet other companies," said Dan Casey, Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County chief executive officer. "It's like a business networking event on steroids."

The event, hosted at the DoubleTree by Hilton, in Port Huron, was the first Meet the Buyer event that incorporated both U.S. and Canadian businesses that was jointly hosted by the EDA and other economic agencies.

Participants spanned from London, Ontario to Lansing.

The buyers included Eissmann Group Automotive, the city of Sarnia, Consumer Energy Company, Michigan State University, DTE Energy and Lansing Board of Water of Water and Light.

The buyers were looking for businesses that can provide a variety of products, such as office supplies, janitorial services, maintenance, fire and police services, uniforms, construction, medical equipment and software.

Rachelle Hall, Lansing Board of Water and Light buyer, said she was drawn to the event because of the bi-national aspect of it.

"We have attended other events local to us, but we are trying to get more companies in our vendor mix so we came here," Hall said. "We actually found a good corporate leadership training company that we could use."

Zan Houston, customer service manager of Kay and Kay Manufacturing in Croswell, said she was looking for companies seeking to contract welding and fabrication services.

"It's interesting to learn about other companies, some of the other companies we met are able to send their overflow work to us," Houston said. "This event allows us to bid on projects that we may not find out about otherwise."

Casey said the networking event also allowed buyers and sellers to learn about how to move goods across the international border and about the taxes involved in international selling.

The event allows companies to expand into new markets, or markets in their own backyard.

"A common issue is that companies are so busy they don't take the time to learn about the businesses around them," said J.D. Snyder, Michigan State University community economic development project director. "Instead of contracting out for something far away, there might be a company in your backyard that can supply the same service."

Contact Nicole Hayden at (810) 989-6279 or nhayden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @NicoleHayden_TH.