Fiscal Year 2012 was a banner year for the Albuquerque District, as the District exceeded its goals for contracts to small businesses in several categories.
Nearly 70 percent ($235.6 million) of the total obligated prime contracts here went to small businesses – the highest amount for the District to date, far surpassing the goal of 41 percent. This fiscal year percentage was also the highest in the South Pacific Division, and it squarely positioned Albuquerque in the top 10 of small business contractors in the Corps.
The District obligated $31 million (9.19 percent) for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) – exceeding the goal of 3 percent. Again, the District was among the top 10 districts across the Corps in both percentage and dollars obligated for SDVOSB.
The District was also highest in the Division for woman-owned small businesses, exceeding the 10 percent goal by obligating 15.2 percent ($51.4 million). In the 8(a) certified small disadvantaged businesses category, 486 actions were awarded totaling $64.1 million (18.9 percent).
Other highlights of the year for Albuquerque included receiving an “Outstanding Rating” from the Small Business Administration on the Surveillance Review of the District’s Small Business Program, which is managed by Deputy for Small Business Programs Daniel Curado. The District partnered with Small Business specialists from Kirtland Air Force Base and the Department of Energy to plan, organize and execute quarterly small business and vendor outreach days. And, as part of South Pacific Division’s regional small business outreach efforts, all four districts (Albuquerque, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) planned and executed an annual small business conference (the 11th annual), which was held in Sparks, Nev., in April 2012.
Nationally, the Corps awarded $7.26 billion to small businesses in fiscal year 2012, accounting for 33 percent of the Army’s $21 billion total small business obligations. In comparison with other federal contracting activities that obligated more than $5 billion, the Corps had the highest percentage of dollars awarded to Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned Small, Service-Disabled Veteran Small, and HubZone Businesses.