Energy company’s invitation to local businesses

Jun 21 2011 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

POWER bosses are hosting their first ‘meet the buyer’ open evening on Thursday in Perth.

Scottish and Southern Energy is to open the doors of its Dunkeld Road headquarters to local businesses and sole-traders, who are being invited to pitch their products and services directly to the energy giant’s dedicated team of buyers.

Local community groups and charities are also being invited to suggest ways in which SSE can help them through its ‘Community at Heart’ initiative.

Sandy Biggar, SSE’s director of procurement, explained the thinking behind the move.

“We’re a big company with strong local connections and that is why we’re hosting this ‘meet-the-buyer’ event,” he declared.

“Perthshire is full of new and long-established businesses and we want to hear from anyone who thinks we may benefit from what they’ve got to offer.

“There’s nothing too big or too small, and we’re looking forward to meeting as many local businesses as possible.”

Vicki Unite, chief executive of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, declared: “This is a brilliant opportunity for local businesses to meet the buyers from Scotland’s second largest company who are obviously keen to demonstrate their commitment to using local Perthshire suppliers.”

Perthshire South and Kinross-shire MSP Roseanna Cunningham added: “SSE is an extremely important employer in Perth, but the local economic impact of major companies such as SSE extends beyond a simple headcount of the number of people they employ.

“I was pleased, therefore, to learn of this initiative in which SSE are taking positive and pro-active steps to engage with the local business community.

“I hope that as many local companies as possible will seek out the opportunities that this event offers and that we will continue to see a growing and mutually-beneficial relationship between SSE and the wider local economy.”

Spaces on Thursday evening will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, so SSE is recommending that vendors go along early to avoid disappointment.