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From your local PTAC
Two Upper Peninsula Companies Featured in Deana Vitale's Article on Contract Management
For nearly three decades, PTACs have been walking small businesses through the aisles of government contracting. This free assistance has not only paid off for small business owners, but has delivered capable suppliers to government contracting officers and federal primes. See article.
GLSV Selected as Northwest Michigan PTAC Government Contractor of the Year
GLSV in Houghton, Michigan is an engineering company that offers a broad range of design, manufacturing and testing services. Assistance from the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) has helped GLSV land new government contracts and grants. The work they're doing has earned GLSV recognition as the Northwest Michigan PTAC Government Contractor of the Year; they are also in the running for statewide recognition. Watch the video to find out more.For more information about GLSV visit, glsv.com.
Exhaust ducts for helicopters, silencers for turbines on Navy ships, and after market suspension products for snowmobiles. Those are just a few examples of the types of things that are designed, manufactured and tested at GLSV in Houghton, Michigan.
Steve Polakowski started the company in 1996 in his garage with a focus on solving problems related to sound and vibration. Now GLSV is housed in a 15,000 square foot facility where they take on engineering, testing and manufacturing projects ranging from small parts to large vehicles and equipment.
"We do the hard things to do, the things that others have failed at," said Polakowski. We use creativity, innovation and all these awesome tools to tackle those types of very difficult problems."
Polakowski says GLSV tackles those problems with a well trained staff, state of the art equipment and hi-end computer software. They've even created a specialized sound room they use for acoustic tests.
"This is an environment that enables us to make a simplified set of measurements and understand more complex aspects of sound propagation," said Polakowski.
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GLSV's capabilities allow them to work on a variety of commercial and government projects. In 2011 they had an opportunity to attend a Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) Industry Day held for Marinette Marine. The connections they made at that event have helped GLSV land more government contracts.
"They learned about the quality requirements to work for the government and the military and ever since then they've been an active participant in our PTAC programs and they've had success procuring Naval and government work," said Don Makowski, Northwest Michigan PTAC Procurement Counselor.
"The PTAC helped us make contact with other government agencies that helped us become ISO certified," said Polakowski. "That's a critical part in order to continue doing government contracting."
Besides helping GLSV get its ISO Certification the PTAC also helped the company win some Small Business Innovative Research Program grants that are being used for a couple of different projects including the development of an active exhaust noise cancellation system. With the grants and some new government contracts GLSV has added eleven employees in the past year. The work they're doing has earned GLSV recognition as the Northwest Michigan PTAC Government Contractor of the Year.
"GLSV is a good example of taking advantage of PTAC resources and they show the importance of networking," said Makowski.
"I would encourage people who aren't working with the PTAC to participate," said Polakowski. "You get a whole new education and you start to learn the tips and tricks."
Frontier US
Northwest Michigan PTAC Client, Frontier Computer Corporation, has been awarded its first government contract. The award was made from the United States Marine Corp. for Microsoft Licensing under NAICS Code 511210. Frontier is a supplier of new and refurbished IT hardware. Frontier has worked with the PTAC to identify opportunity within the government market place and to understand the regulations involved in government contracting. Frontier has attended numerous seminars and events on Federal Contracting basics and Market Research and worked with the NW Michigan PTAC on several market research projects. Frontier’s road to success began when they created a “Government Sales Division” in a targeted initiative to generate government sales. Frontier has also secured its HUBZone Certification, something Frontier credits, in part, for their receiving their recent Marine Corps contract. A press release issued from Frontier announcing their recent award can be accessed here.
Cadillac Fabrication/Yard King
The flash flood season at Bandelier National Monument, Los Alamos, New Mexico required removal of the bridge from the parking lot to the picnic area. Peak visitor season was ramping up and maintenance crews needed access to clean up flood debris in the picnic area. Long time PTAC client Cadillac Fabrication/Yard King, Inc. of Cadillac Michigan solved the problem by building a temporary steel bridge 12 feet wide and 65 feet long. To meet a tight time frame for delivery and installation Cadillac Fabrication Sales Executive Mike Gibbons worked with the contracting officer for their GSA Schedule. The bridge was added to their schedule in record time. Ordering through a GSA Schedule allowed Bandelier to get the bridge on site much faster than issuing a solicitation. Mike managed transportation arrangements and DOT permits for getting the oversize load from Michigan to New Mexico. He also found a crane and operator to do the installation at Bandelier.
Glen Simpson, Bandelier Chief of Facility Management commented, “Everything went like clockwork yesterday. The spanner looks great. We are already using it. Thanks for the great job on the ramps.”
Check out the May 21-25, 2012 Bandelier Facebook page for comments and pictures https://www.facebook.com/BandelierNPS
B&P Manufacturing
B&P Manufacturing has been selected as Michigan's Government Contractor of the Year and will receive the award at the Michigan Celebrates Small Business event May 3 in Lansing. B&P was nominated by the Northwest Michigan Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) and was one of 11 businesses in the running for the statewide award.
“B&P Manufacturing is a true PTAC success story and a success story for northern Michigan businesses," said Anne Helbig, PTAC program director. "They've been awarded nearly $30 million in government contracts, have added 10 new employees since 2009, and may add more employees in the near future."
B&P Manufacturing is an aluminum fabrication company known for its high quality material handling equipment. In recent years the company has also been making aluminum containers for the U.S. military. B&P's efforts to land more and larger government contracts have received a boost from PTAC.
“As a small northern Michigan business, B&P Manufacturing is both honored and pleased to be named as Michigan’s Government Contractor of the Year for 2012. The Northwest Michigan PTAC has provided assistance in our pursuit of Government contracts and we continue to work with them as we look for new opportunities in the future,” said Lia Krantz Lipar, B&P Manufacturing's director of military sales & contracts.
The Michigan Celebrates Small Business (MCSB) event is an annual awards program created by five founding organizations to recognize the importance of successful small businesses across the state. MCSB honors those businesses and their supporters who greatly contribute to the overall growth of Michigan's economy.
The Northwest Michigan PTAC is a program of the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments (NWMCOG) and provides no fee assistance to businesses interested in doing business with state and federal government agencies.
