On Nov. 6, Missouri Southern hosted a procurement conference on the third floor of the Billingsly Student Center. The conference began with registration. Government and prime contractor exhibits were open for the small businesses to visit representatives of these government agencies.

The conference was put together by U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO.) and Missouri State Sen. Gary Nodler (R-Joplin) in cooperation with Heartland Procurement Technical Assistance Center.

The purpose of the conference was to get small businesses together with government buyers. It was a networking opportunity for local businesses.

Some of the federal agencies and installations and state and local entities that were guest speakers included Whiteman Air Force Base, Department of Veteran Affairs, Defense Supply Center, Missouri Army National Guard, Missouri Department of Transportation and Neosho R-5 School District.

The day was broke up into different sessions. Panel one was for federal agencies and gave each speaker 10 minutes to present exactly how to do business with them, followed by questions and answers. Panel two was for state and local entities — how to do business with them — followed by questions and answers. The exhibit room was open between panel discussions.

“It allowed you to see exactly what the state agencies are looking for, some good contacts were made, very beneficial,” said Ron Brunner, official with Brunner Fabrication.

“A lot of it is networking, getting your company name out there, telling us where to go to submit a bid ourselves,” said Robin Psajdi, Mid-America Precision

The government accepts job bids from smaller businesses like Mid-America Precision and Brunner Fabrication that have an opportunity to get their hands on some of the government money available through bids.

“The government buys a lot of products, and we are always looking for ways to bring that to Joplin,” said Steve Russell, Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. “I tend to go to a lot of conferences. We are very interested in finding opportunities for our members (more than 1,100 businesses). Oftentimes they are so focused on their core business, they don’t have an opportunity to look 360 degrees around, that’s what we are here for.”

Heartland PTAC is a growing program that began in 1985. It offers services for area businesses; daily bid-matching, help with government registrations, providing procurement histories, specifications and standards. Heartland PTAC since 1995 has helped area businesses receive more than $141 million worth of contracts.