Two Co. Louth companies are expecting their businesses to grow after taking part in the innovative Gateways to Growth Project’s ‘Meet the Buyer Event’ held recently in Belfast.
McArdle Skeath (Inniskeen) and Recruitment Plus (Dundalk) were among 200 firms – represented by Suppliers and Buyers from the border counties of the Republic of Ireland and across Northern Ireland – who attended the event at Belfast’s Ramada Hotel.
The event was part of Gateways to Growth programme which is supported by the European ’s INTERREG IVA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body and delivered in partnership with Dundalk Chamber of Commerce, Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce, Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and COMET Councils in Northern Ireland.
The project provides sales, networking and business to business support opportunities, with participants given the opportunity to pitch to both local and international Buyers.
Micheál McArdle, General Manager of McArdle Skeath, which supplies transportation, refrigeration and storage services, was a Buyer at the event.
“We have engaged with a number of the suppliers following the Belfast event and some of our initial meetings have progressed through to orders. It was an excellent opportunity to engage with businesses and I had about eighteen meetings on the day and was able to assess very quickly who we were likely to do business with. Meeting the suppliers face to face was a definite advantage over responding to a cold call”.
He added: “For us as a Buyer, it was very useful because we found a lot of skill sets available that we normally would not have access to”.
Anne Fanthom, Managing Director of Recruitment Plus, who attended the event as a Supplier said she found it very worthwhile in terms of making new business contacts which would enable her company to further grow by connecting with these new companies after the event.
She said: “This was a great opportunity for Recruitment Plus to meet firms in Northern Ireland and explore opportunities for us to do business together. The theme on the day was very good in promoting cross-border initiatives and making “new” connections. I found it very worthwhile and we are in contact with the firms that were most relevant to our business sector. These are companies that previously, we have not had the opportunity to meet with or engage on a business level.”
If you are a local Supplier and would like to apply to be part of the Gateways to Growth Project contact Melanie Fitzpatrick at Dundalk Chamber via email project@dundalk.ie or on 042 9336343.
