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SBA Honors Alabama, Missouri Firms For Excellence in Small Business Contracting

Dépèche transmise le 19 mai 2011 par Business Wire

SBA Honors Alabama, Missouri Firms For Excellence in Small Business Contracting

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An engineering firm and small business contractor from Missouri and a small business defense contractor from Alabama have been named the National Prime Contractor of the Year and National Subcontractor of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The awards were announced as part of the National Small Business Week celebration in Washington, D.C.

“The federal government put nearly $100 billion in federal contracts in the hands of small businesses last year”

The two small businesses were selected from among nine regional prime contractors and 10 regional subcontractors of the year. The Small Business Prime Contractor and Small Business Subcontractor of the Year awards honor small businesses that have provided outstanding goods and services to the federal government as prime contractors or as subcontractors.

“The federal government put nearly $100 billion in federal contracts in the hands of small businesses last year,” said SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills. “Those small businesses – including the ones being honored today – are creating jobs and delivering innovative products and services to make America stronger. Today, we celebrate the achievements of small businesses as well as their partners and advocates in the federal contracting community.”

This year’s winners are:

• Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year: Kent Schien founded Innoventor, Inc., of St. Louis, Mo., a design/build engineering firm in the basement of his home in 1996. The company is known as “The Original Idea People” because its core competency is combining cross-industry experience and cutting edge technology to provide innovative solutions for a variety of customer demands. Its customers include the government, aerospace, military, automotive, commercial, industrial, agriculture, food and beverage, medical, pharmaceutical and power industries. It has been a prime contractor at Warner Robbins Air Force Base in Georgia for the cesium-based master regulating clock, a precision instrument that regulates secondary clocks in complicated systems, for the E-4B Advanced Airborne Command Post for the U.S. Air Force.

• Small Business Subcontractor of the Year: Pat and Jack Khamken, brothers and founders of J&P Khamken Industries, Inc. of Montgomery, Ala., came to the U.S. as refugees from Laos at the end of the Vietnam War. Jack started the business in 2000 after obtaining citizenship and learning the machinist trade. Pat later joined him after completing his military service. The company is now an 8(a)-certified, small disadvantaged and service disabled-veteran-owned business that provides a wide range of services including manufacturing products for the defense industry, munitions, aircraft components and parts, machine products and assemblies and dockside ship repairs. With a near-perfect record on contracts, Khamken has delivered more than 1,000 contracts with a 100 percent on-time or early delivery record and has become a valued subcontractor to major defense prime contractors such as Lockheed Martin, BAE, Raytheon Missile Systems, General Dynamics and L-3 Communications.

The awards were presented at a breakfast ceremony sponsored by Raytheon. Other procurement awards that were given out during the 2011 National Small Business Week award events included:

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:

• Watts Constructors, LLC of Honolulu, Hawaii; Dennis N. Watts, president, (Construction Category).
• Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Pantex, LLC of Amarillo, Texas; John D. Woolery, president and general manager, (Manufacturing Category).
• SAIC of McLean, Va; Babak Nouri, vice president, small business liaison officer and director of Small Business Programs, (Research and Development Category).
• AMEC Earth and Environmental, Inc. of Plymouth Meeting, Pa.; Hisham Mahmoud, PhD, president, (Services Category).

The Gold Star Award, recognizing exemplary performance by federal staff who manage the aggressive goals and strategic initiatives that help ensure a role for small business in the federal marketplace. The recipients are:

• Brandon Neal, director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of the Department of Transportation of Washington, D.C.;
• Mark Oliver, director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of the Department of Interior of Washington, D.C.

The Frances Perkins Vanguard Award, honoring government and industry for excellence in the use of women-owned small businesses as prime contractors and subcontractors. The recipient is:

• Glenn Sweat, CPCM, PMP, CCEP, general counsel, of Environmental Chemical Corporation of Burlingame, Ca.

Surety Bond Award, honoring the 16 participating surety companies and bond producers for the support they provide to small businesses who need help securing bid, payment and performance bonds. This year’s recipients are:

• John Hughes, president, and Alice Thomas, secretary/treasurer, Construction Bonds, Inc.

Small Business Week featured forums on Social Media and Strategies for High Growth, High Impact Firms designed to help entrepreneurs with current, real-world issues that impact their businesses. For additional information about Small Business Week 2011, including a full schedule of events and information on all award winners, visit http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com. The public also can “attend” Small Business Week events virtually, via the SBA’s streaming video on the Web at http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com/webcast.php.

Small Business Week 2011 sponsors and cosponsors include: Association of Small Business Development Companies, AT&T, AVAYA, CareerBuilder, Dun & Bradstreet, Google, International Franchise Association, Intuit, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, National Association of Development Companies, National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, National Association of Small Business Investment Companies, National Association for the Self-Employed, National Small Business Association, Nomadic Display, Northrop Grumman, Office Depot, Raytheon, Sam's Club, SCORE, The Neat Company, Verio, Visa, the Wall Street Journal and Women Impacting Public Policy.

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s participation in this cosponsored activity does not constitute an express or implied endorsement of any cosponsor’s, donor’s, grantee’s, contractor’s or participant’s opinions, products, or services. All SBA programs and cosponsored programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Reasonable arrangements for persons with disabilities will be made, if requested at least 2 weeks in advance, by contacting [email protected]. Cosponsorship Authorization #SBW2011.

Release Number: 11-33