Military partnerships touted
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
It didn't take long for graphic artist James Peters to realize the benefit of federal government contracts.
Advertiser library photo
Within several months of acquiring an 8(a) certification through the U.S. Small Business Administration, he picked up a $55,000 contract to create a display for the Defense Information System Agency.
Soldiers at Fort Polk, La., make a test run in the Army's new Stryker armored vehicle. The Stryker brigade coming to Schofield Barracks in 2006 will bring 28 projects worth $693 million.
Peters says it wasn't luck or connections that got him the job. It was his participation in last year's Small Business Outlook Forum, geared toward small businesses interested in obtaining government contracts, that created the opportunity.
"It was a place where everyone could come together," Peters said. "And I saw that as a golden opportunity."
The forum was so successful, in fact, that the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific, along with SBA and the Hawai'i Small Business Development Center, hosted another one yesterday at the Honolulu Country Club.
About 245 people representing more than 100 businesses participated in yesterday's forum, which highlighted subcontracting opportunities relating to the Stryker brigade, Ford Island project and various military housing projects.
"There's a very large potential here," said Andrew Poepoe, SBA director for the Hawai'i District.
The military needs a variety of contract work from construction to building maintenance to landscaping, he said.
The Stryker brigade alone will bring 28 projects worth $693 million. Nearly 300 Stryker armored vehicles will start arriving in Hawai'i in 2006. Roads need to be built, facilities need to be maintained, computers need to be hooked up.
For more information on small-business contracting by federal agencies: • Hawai'i District Office, SBA • U.S. Small Business Administration
Poepoe estimates that nearly a third of Hawai'i's 30,000 small businesses could benefit from partnerships with the military.
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Gov. Linda Lingle, who gave the keynote address yesterday, emphasized the need for strengthening the partnership between the military and small businesses that could benefit from federally sponsored projects.
"The best way to bring money into the state is for small business to thrive," she said. "There's years of great opportunity ahead for us. I believe what's good for the military is good for Hawai'i ... because the bottom line is we have respect for each other."
Federal agencies aim to award at least 23 percent of their contracts to small business, according to the U.S. Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997. A smaller percentage of contracts are awarded specifically to women- and minority-owned businesses.
Peters, who is half-Japanese, qualified for an 8(a) certification, which assists the development of small companies owned and operated by minorities.
Out of $552 million the federal government spent on contracts in Hawai'i during just a portion of last year, 44 percent went to local small businesses, Poepoe said.
While the quality of work by local small businesses is up to par, their knowledge of how the contracting process works sometimes isn't, he said.
Peters never dealt with government agencies prior to attending last year's forum. This year he knows what to expect and how to nab hefty contracts.
"I'm planning to grow my business," he said. "And I'm hoping the military will add to the work that I do."
Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.
