Bid2Win programme helps Ballycarry business to win valuable contracts

Family business Laird Grass Machinery (LGM) in Ballycarry is a leading supplier of grounds maintenance equipment in Northern Ireland, counting Kubota and Toro amongst its most prolific brands.

Free to local businesses, Bid2Win is a publicly funded programme that provides support through a combination of workshops and one-to-one mentoring, as well as meet the buyer and supply chain events. Companies can avail of up to five days of one-to-one support from professionals with proven credentials in supporting organisations win tendered contracts across the public and private sectors.

LGM’s Margaret Service found the programme helped the firm “make the right decisions”.

“After being assigned a mentor to develop our procurement materials, they worked with us to identify which tenders to go for, as well as helping develop our bid submission. They helped us to be more succinct in our responses and advise us on the relevant information that was required. We worked in conjunction with them to finesse our submission before submitting it through the eTenders portal,” she explained.

“The Bid2Win programme has really helped us make the right tender decisions for our business. I can’t rate the programme highly enough and am delighted with the support received, even more so when our submissions were successful.”

Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, councillor William McCaughey said: “It is great to see Mid and East Antrim companies such as LGM winning valuable contracts through the Bid2Win programme.Procurement can be daunting, but Bid2Win helps streamline the process by helping businesses understand the requirements as well as with preparing winning content.

“It is encouraging that not only has LGM been successful in a recent procurement submission, but is also more confident about future tenders, selecting them and making the best quality submission possible.

“I would encourage other companies across Mid and East Antrim who are interested in winning contracts, increasing their turnover and growing their business to consider participating in the Bid2Win programme.”

In order to participate in the Bid2Win programme, companies must have been trading for more than 12 months, have under 50 employees and have a registered address in one of the Antrim and Newtownabbey, Lisburn and Castlereagh City or Mid and East Antrim council areas. To learn more, contact Tom Brennan at [email protected].