On Monday, Massport added a new task to its responsibilities: business matchmaker.
The port authority hosted its “Massport Means Business” event at the Hilton Hotel at Logan Airport to connect roughly 230 local businesses with the agency’s biggest construction contractors and two big concessionaires.
David Mackey, Massport’s interim CEO, said the event was aimed in part at finding more subcontractors who would be interested in bidding on some of Massport’s long list of construction projects. He said it’s important local businesses understand what kind of opportunities are available for them through Massport.
But Mackey said Massport’s goal for Monday’s event was also to introduce small-business owners to the agency’s biggest contractors for the potential of landing other jobs that could have nothing to do with Massport, through the “speed-networking sessions” that were held at the Hilton.
Massport spokesman Richard Walsh said this workshop had a much broader approach than the last networking event for potential and existing Massport contractors that the agency held in 2006.
“We’re trying to leverage our status as an important customer of these big companies to see what outreach they would be able to do, to do business with local (firms),” Mackey said. “We have a significant impact on the neighboring communities around Logan Airport. We’re a large and noisy airport nestled into these communities. ... One of the ways we can make up for that is the economic opportunity we provide.”
Jon Chesto may be reached at jchesto@ledger.com.
