| OCR Text |
Show UVIDA to become procurement center The Utah Valley Industrial Development Association has opened its doors as a Regional Procurement Office, under the direction of the Utah State Division of Business and Economic Development. Kent Evans, Mayor of American Fork and chairman of the UVIDA task force that pioneered the idea of a procurement center, said the office will service the three-' county area of Wasatch, Summit and Utah Valley in helping small businesses sell their products to the Department of Defense and other government agencies. Evans said Paul H. Stout, a Utah native and graduate of BYU, has been named director of the regional procurement program, administered ad-ministered from the UVIDA offices. Stout said the opportunities for local companies to expand their business through government contracts is tremendous. " "You .could say the biggest customer in the world is ready to walk through your front door, and all small businesses have to do is take advantage ad-vantage of it." The U.S. Government purchases nearly $200 billion in goods and services annually, amounting to expenditures of more than five percent of the country's gross national product, he said. "Yet, despite the huge potential for sales in this new marketplace, small b usinesses shy away from dealing with Uncle Sam." "Fears about red tape and government interference, lack of knowledge about government purchsing patterns, and other negative images can scare managers away." Stout said the regional procurement office will help the small businessman learn that his fears are largely unfounded. "For example, the government has a quick-payment regulation market," said Stout. A Steering Committee has been formed to coordinate and to act as an advisory councilk to the regional procurement office. Represented on the steering committee are executies from Eyring Research Institute, Teleflex Corporation, Alpine Industries, Kitco, General Image Engineering and Little Giant Industries. These companies collectively contract for hundreds of millions in federaal contract work annually and are among the most active in contractors in Utah. These companies com-panies employ nearly 1,500 worker and fitfully demonstrate the virtually vir-tually untapped potential in the federal marketplace. When Governor Bangeter put together a team of economic development professionals in 1984 to study the potential of procurement in Utah, he found that one of our greatest potential resources in this state was almost totally ignored. Richard Bradford, chairman of the committee and executive director of the Utah Valley Industrial In-dustrial Development Association, reported tht $2.2 billion were spent by Hill Air Force Base each year in purchases of equipment and services. ser-vices. Only four percent of those contracts were being awarded to Utah firms. The national average for military installations was 17 percent going to local contractors. As a result of the studies, the legislature appropriated funds to set up a bidders assistance center, now called the Utah Federal Procurement Assistance Office, directed by John Bryan. Bryan is the former director of base purchases pur-chases at Hill Air Force Base, and is on "loan" to the State of Utah to set up procurement operations. The State has nine satellite agencies in the various regions of the state to help small business on a local level. And though only in operation for a few months, the state has already been instrumental in assisting several firms to obtain contracts for government purchases, pur-chases, resulting in millions of dollars in work and several new jobs. Stout said one of the first programs the State has implemented im-plemented is a computer link-up with Washington to instantly receive information on federal contracts through all of the government agencies. These contract con-tract opportunities are matched with utah firms who are capable of bidding on the projects. Local firms, through this computer link, are able to obtain the leads several days before their counterparts in other states who only have the Commerce Business Daily as a resource. "We have already surveyed nearly 200 firms in Wasatch, Utah and Summit counties to establish their manufacturing capabilities and to determine their interest in doing work for the government -and the response has been overwhelming." over-whelming." The office is being equipped with a variety of resources and tools to help the small business owner compete for the contracts once the procurement match has been m ade. A microfiche readerprinter, computer, software, federal regulations and specifications and a variety of other government publications are available to the public as needed. Seminars and workshops are also . planned to educate interested individuals in-dividuals on procurement procedures. The first seminar is scheduled for October 31, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Excelsior Hotel in Provo. The seminar is opfen to all interested businesses. Please. RSVP, 374-9900. guaranteeing payment within 30 days, in most cases. The effective turn around time, however, is more like 10-20 days, according to most local firms. "There is also such a diversity o f purchases within the federal system that a wide variety of business can get involved. Our government doesn't just by guns and tanks. The list sof items purchased by various agencies consists of 78 different categories, including toiletries, furniture, cleaning supplies, engineering and construction services, medical supplies, publications and clothing. The list goes on and on." "We have a team of individuals in the State and in this three-county region that are experienced in contracting and willing to help area businesses get their share of the |
