(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) — The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) is participating in the Midwest Supplier Diversity Exposition which will be held at the Metropolitan Community College (MCC) – Penn Valley Education Center, located at 3201 Southwest Trafficway, Kansas City, Missouri.

It is the policy of the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to provide all suppliers with a fair and equal opportunity to conduct business with BPU. BPU recognizes that as a public utility it has a responsibility to seek to purchase goods and services from a diverse base of suppliers.

Through its’ Supplier Diversity Program, BPU strives to obtain high-quality goods and services from minority and women-owned businesses at competitive prices, while enhancing the opportunities for success for business owners of diverse backgrounds.

Diverse suppliers include small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, minority owned businesses, women-owned businesses and disabled-owned businesses whose owners are disabled under the definitions of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

This expo provides procurement representatives and supplier diversity professionals a networking forum to build relationships to fulfill participation goals, and expand databases with qualified business owners that have capacity to create partnerships for contracting opportunities.

BPU’s water department was originally created in 1909, and its electric utility was operational in 1912. The purpose of the utility, then and to this day, is to provide the highest quality electric and water services at the lowest possible cost. Today the publicly owned utility serves approximately 65,000 electric and 53,000 water customers, primarily in Wyandotte County, Kansas. The mission of the utility and its employees is “to focus on the needs of our customers, to improve the quality of life in our community while promoting safe, reliable and sustainable utilities.” BPU’s Web site is www.BPU.com.