Ryder Cup 2014: Scots firms land lucrative deals TWO Scottish companies have won the first lucrative supplier contracts to be awarded for next year's Ryder Cup clash between Europe and America's top golfers at Gleneagles. Hamilton-based Portakabin Events and SecuriGroup, based in Glasgow, were today confirmed by Ryder Cup Europe as the winners of the first two contracts to be awarded through the Public Contracts Scotland website dedicated to the Ryder Cup. Portakabin Events, which employs 120 people around Scotland, will supply 80 temporary offices and 20 storage units at the Ryder Cup site which will act as the administrative heart of the event, providing accommodation for the PGA of America, EventScotland and Ryder Cup Europe. SecuriGroup, which employs over 2,500 staff and is Scotland's largest independent security company, has won the contract to provide over 700 staff to provide safety and security services at the biennial golfing tournament. Jonathan Reid, the general manager of Portakabin said: "Portakabin Events division has been supplying offices, toilets, showers and associated services for more than 20 years now and has supplied many large-scale events including the Open Championship, the Ryder Cup, T in the Park and Edinburgh's Hogmanay. "We are delighted to be involved with the Ryder Cup again and look forward to working with a "local" event for our events business." John Malcolm, the chairman of SecuriGroup, said: "We're delighted to be working with the largest golfing event in the world. The 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles will be a fantastic event and we are proud to have won such a prestigious contract. The value of the contracts has not been disclosed but are the first in a series of contracts, worth millions of pounds in total, which are being competed for through the official Ryder Cup procurement portal. Other contract opportunities available on the portal include transport, merchandising, waste management, fencing, telecommunications, and other infrastructure-related services. Antonia Beggs, the operations director for the 2014 Ryder Cup, said: "The PCS portal has enabled us to streamline our procurement processes. Importantly, it has also given as many Scottish businesses as possible forewarning of the contracts on offer. We are already seeing the fruits of that labour as we have heard from many local suppliers keen to become involved with the event. Portakabin Events and SecuriGroup are experts in their respective fields and we are thrilled to have them involved, and to see the commitment from their senior management to The Ryder Cup. She continued: "Safety and comfort are our priorities in putting on an event that will be remembered as one of the largest and most prestigious in the world. We are pleased to be awarding these important supplier contracts to Scottish companies as it will inevitably lead to the generation of local jobs. The Ryder Cup procurement portal is a joint initiative between Ryder Cup Europe, the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise. It is the first time that a series of private contracts have been made available through a public sector portal. Linda McDowall, executive director at Scottish Enterprise said: "Companies, regardless of size and location, can for the first time bid for private sector supplier contracts for the Ryder Cup through the new procurement portal. This means more companies than ever can tap into a potentially lucrative revenue stream to grow their business, while gaining valuable experience of supplying a large-scale, global event. I'd encourage all businesses in Scotland to register on the procurement portal so that they can identify, and act on, the upcoming contracts. Shona Robison, the Scottish Sports Minister, said: "The Ryder Cup, one of the biggest sporting events in the world, will bring enormous economic benefits to Scotland before, during and after the tournament. I am delighted that SecuriGroup and Portakabin Events, two Scottish companies, have won contracts to help the tournament run smoothly. This is the result of a great public-private collaboration between Ryder Cup Europe and Public Contracts Scotland, with many more contracts still to come.