Lehigh Valley Meet the Buyers

Lehigh Valley Meet the Buyers Builds Strong Local Supply Chains

Published Monday, April 8, 2024

by Paul Muschick

More than 130 Lehigh Valley business professionals, companies, and organizations gathered to grow their connections and explore business partnerships at Meet the Buyers on April 3.

Meet the Buyers is the Lehigh Valley’s largest procurement matchmaking event. It is an opportunity for local small and medium-sized businesses to market themselves to larger companies and organizations that are looking for new vendors and to diversify their supplier network for goods and services. 

The event was hosted and coordinated by the Small Business Development Center at Lehigh University and held at the university’s Iacocca Hall in Bethlehem.

The event drew 108 people to market their services to two dozen buyers.

“The Meet the Buyers Expo is about expanding access to opportunities for businesses in the Lehigh Valley. For small businesses, it gets them in front of the right people at premier corporations. For buyers, it showcases the diverse products and services offered locally to meet their needs,” said Brett Smith, Director of the Small Business Development Center and chair of the event steering committee.

Karianne Gelinas, Vice President of Regional Partnerships & Talent Strategies at Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. (LVEDC) is a member of the steering committee.

“Shortening supply chains has garnered increasing attention, but we in the Lehigh Valley have historically prioritized building connections among companies within the region to drive spend locally and to grow our own economy. LVEDC partners with SBDC to bring this opportunity to Lehigh Valley companies to build their connections and increase their supplier diversity,” Gelinas said.

Lisa Pammer, Founder and CEO of Green Pond Packaging in Bethlehem, said the event was successful and she recommends that others participate. She said the leads and discussions were beneficial.

“As a small start-up company, the Meet the Buyers event provided me opportunities to network with buyers from local governments and companies. All in one location and in one morning and with the right people! I was able to share what I do and bring visibility to the types of products available through Green Pond Packaging,” Pammer said.

Green Pond Packaging focuses on reducing the negative environmental impact of disposable restaurant packaging and dinnerware by offering natural, plant-based, and plastic-free alternatives for use in homes and businesses.

Nestor Miranda, a manager at Junk Shot, attended Meet the Buyers to spread the word about the junk and bulk removal service that opened in Bath about a year ago. He said he had several good conversations with businesses and organizations that are in need of such services.

“There’s a lot of people in one place,” Miranda said. “It's a good way to spread the name of your services, what you provide, and what you like to do in the Lehigh Valley.”

Buyers in attendance included local and county governments; organizations such as Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA), Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, Discover Lehigh Valley ®, and ArtsQuest; and companies such as PPL Services Corp., SERVPRO, Service Electric Business, Crayola, Olympus Corporation of the Americas, and HNL Lab Medicine. View the complete list here.

SERVPRO of Easton, Bethlehem, and Whitehall Township provides cleaning and restoration services for damage caused by fire, water, storms, and mold, along with routine maintenance and cleaning services for commercial and residential properties. Sales and Marketing Manager Jeremy Brescia said Meet the Buyers provides an opportunity to see what new products and services are available that SERVPRO may be able to incorporate into its services.

“We're always looking for new innovations or new ways of making things a little bit easier for our staff, but also to help the customer. At Meet the Buyers, we've met a lot of different people, they can offer us things that we might not have thought of yet,” Brescia said.

He said he had spoken with companies that can provide junk removal, biohazard cleanup, and container services. Brescia said having connections with staffing services is also helpful.

“We're always needing more staff and people are here letting us know that they can help us with that.”

Meet the Buyers began in 2013 as a bi-annual event. This year’s event was the first held in person since the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous event in 2022 was held virtually.

The steering committee for Meet the Buyers included ABE Media Group; EBC Printing; Northampton County Department of Community and Economic Development; LVEDC; Manufacturers Resource Center; The Neffs National Bank; and Viamedia.