Bringing Maine Companies, Government Contractors Together To Talk Business

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree told a crowd of over 100 Maine small business people that it's not just big companies that can do business with the federal government.

"There are lots of opportunities for the kind of innovative, creative small businesses we have in Maine to do business with the federal government," Pingree said. "Sometimes it's just a matter of explaining the process and pointing those businesses in the right direction."

Pingree invited large government contractors like Raytheon and General Dynamics to come to the event at Ocean Gateway in Portland today. Representatives of small businesses also attended, to meet with government officials and the large contractors, to learn how they can get contracts for government projects.

Josh Allan and Matt Grannell with Getsmetal LLC of South Portland came to make the face-to-face pitch to become a metal supplier to BIW. "We'd like the opportunity to make the bid," said Grannell. "We're hoping to make some gains today."

"We want to make sure they use small businesses in Maine when they can," said Allan. "This event was a good opportunity to do that."

The regional head of the General Services Administration (GSA) spoke at the event, saying the federal government wants to support innovative small businesses, not just the larger companies they've worked with in the past. A wide range of businesses attended, from architects and construction firms, to landscape companies and small manufacturers.

"Maine has a lot to offer the federal government, and this is one way to bring business to Maine companies and help them create and preserve jobs," Pingree said.

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