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Local Companies Seek To Do Business With Boeing

DETROIT (WWJ) - Businesses hoping to build a relationship with Boeing gathered Monday in Sterling Heights.

The Detroit Regional Chamber hosted Monday's Connection Point program event at Velocity.

The program, funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, aims to connect large, successful companies with small businesses hoping to pique interest. It has been known to help businesses get their start and grow locally and internationally.

According to program manager Trevor Paul, the program's connections with various well-known companies offers endless possibilities to smaller business owners.

"We actually have relations across 24 different industries," he said. "We've talked to folks at Intel, we've talked to folks at Microsoft."

Raul Alvarado, Jr., the program manager for networks and space systems at Boeing, said business owners can increase their chances of making it big in a competitive world by doing their homework and knowing the intricacies of the market and the company with which they're hoping to connect.

"There is a vetting process -- we don't just find a small business and say we're gonna give you a contract," he said. "What they build for us saves lives or goes into space, so we never see it again and it has to work forever."

Paul said the Detroit area is a great place to find innovative small businesses when it comes to new technology.

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