An IT solutions and expert management consulting services firm from West Virginia and a veteran-owned mechanical and general contractor from New Hampshire have been named the National Prime Contractor of the Year and National Subcontractor of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). These winners, along with other national winners and finalists for the National Small Business Person of the Year, will be invited to a recognition ceremony as part of National Small Business Week at the White House on May 8th.
In FY 13, the federal government awarded 23.4 percent of all federal contracts to small businesses and exceeded the small business contracting goal for the first time in eight years. This translates to more than $83 billion of revenue for the job creators who produce 2 out of 3 net, new private-sector jobs in the U.S. economy.
The two small businesses were selected from among ten regional prime contractors and 10 regional subcontractors of the year. The awards honor small businesses that provide outstanding goods and services to the federal government as prime contractors or as subcontractors.
This year’s winners are:
- Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year: Jon Hammock founded KeyLogic, an IT solutions and expert management consulting services firm in 1999, with the help of an SBA-backed loan. KeyLogic provides support to a wide array of federal agencies, including the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory, which it has supported on its Project Execution and Integration project since 2009. The company currently supports 18 federal agencies and has 34 active contracts. Those agencies include: the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Internal Revenue Service.
KeyLogic has 180 employees at offices in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and New York and performs 92 percent of its work as a prime contractor. The company has partnered with more than 500 subcontractors on federal projects with more than 350 subcontractors supporting the DOE’s Project Execution and Integration contract. KeyLogic also led a team of small businesses in the design, development, instruction and tracking of more than 300 instructional hours for NASA engineers as part of its Software Assurance Technical Excellence program.
- Small Business Subcontractor of the Year: Richard T. Hansell is President of RTH Mechanical Contractors, Inc., a veteran-owned mechanical and general contractor that has been servicing clients primarily in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont for more than 28 years. Under Hansell’s leadership, the company has grown to more than 50 employees and more than $10 million in revenues. Some of the services RTH provides include pipefitting, plumbing and med gas. RTH received more than $12 million in subcontracts to provide plumbing, mechanical ductwork and rooftop HVAC, including emergency repairs to mission critical design-build activities for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and New Boston AFS for the ECC corporation, its prime contractor.
Some of RTH’s other clients include the U. S. Departments of Navy and Army, U.S. Coast Guard, New Hampshire Air National Guard, Bath Iron Works Facility, Veterans Administration, Dartmouth College, University of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. RTH also provided HVAC/Plumbing and medical gas work to New Hampshire’s Memorial Hospital for its new addition.
SBA’s 8(a) Business Development program is a nine-year program which provides socially and economically disadvantaged firms access to government contracting opportunities and specialized business training and counseling to help them become viable competitors in the federal marketplace.
8(a) Graduate Firm of the Year: Eli and Sher Valenzuela founded First State Manufacturing (FSM), an industrial sewing and manufacturing company in their garage in 1997. The firm provides industrial seating and upholstery supplies to its commercial, government, and military customers. FSM is a graduate of SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program and has secured more than $10 million in contracts to customers such as: Trump Plaza, Dover Downs, Chili’s, Uno’s, Amtrak, the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA), the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Lockheed Martin, the Department of Defense, and Amazon.
- The company now has 80 employees and its sales have continued to rise since graduating from the 8(a) Program. The company reupholsters existing transportation seating and custom cuts and binds carpet. FSM plans to expand its presence in the transit and distribution industry and expand to the healthcare industry.
Other procurement awards include:
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence, recognizing large prime contractors that have excelled in utilization of small businesses as suppliers and subcontractors. The recipients are:
Construction:
- Amec Foster Wheeler
Thomas J. Logan, President
Palm Beach, Fla;
Research and Development:
- UT – Battelle LLC
Dr. Thom Mason, Laboratory Director
Oak Ridge, Tenn
Service Category:
- Northrop Grumman Information Systems
Cynthia L. Hyland, Sector VP, Supply Chain
McLean, Va
Manufacturing:
- The Boeing Company
Sherman Dupre, Director, Boeing SDB & SA
St. Louis, Mo
Since 1963, the President has issued a proclamation designating one week each year as National Small Business Week. This year, the celebration will take place from May 4-8 all across the country, with the theme “Dream Big, Start Small.” Administrator Contreras-Sweet will travel during the week to events in Miami/Boca Raton, Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York and Washington, D.C. Events throughout the week will be live-streamed on SBA’s website at www.sba.gov. Make sure to check in during the event for live social media engagement, using the hashtag #DreamSmallBiz. For more information on the national events please visit: www.sba.gov/smallbusinessweek.
