On May 29th Team Lorain County traveled to Johnstown, PA to attend the Showcase for Commerce. Johnstown, PA was built on the steel industry and when that business declined in the 1980s the community reinvented itself by becoming a hub of government procurement suppliers and defense contract manufacturing. Our purpose in visiting the show was to make contacts with some of the large firms which supply and manufacture items for the pentagon and other federal agencies and to find out more about how Johnstown built this niche for themselves and how we could apply this to Lorain County.
What started in 1991 as a local exhibition of area businesses is now the largest business and industry show and premier defense contracting exhibit in the region. Showcase for Commerce is the ultimate opportunity to link major defense corporations with qualified local companies for subcontracting. With the addition of the Government Procurement Expo, the Showcase promotes direct contracting and the opportunity to make new business contacts and expand the market for local goods and services with Federal Government Agencies.
The true value of the tank of gas to travel to Johnstown, PA became apparent when within a relatively short period of being on the show floor we had already met and had substantive discussions with upper level management representatives from Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics to name a few. There is no doubt that these valuable contacts made can become valuable lead sources in the future. We gained valuable insight into their industry which will allow us to assist not only in attracting businesses to the area, but also in plugging some of our local businesses into the government procurement supply chain.
