Hi Pete

Firstly I'ld change your IF formula to
=IF(A2="","",MID($A2,2,2))
(can't see why you need to concatenate anything)

Now your question, if I'm understanding it question correctly, you're
having trouble typing 09 in a cell and having it display as 09 rather
than just 9.
Formatting the cells to TEXT and then using Paste Special / Values
(not just paste) should allow you to copy & paste the 09 into the
first column and have it behave.

Hope this helps
JulieD