Los Alamos National Security, LLC recently entered into mentor-protégé agreements with two Northern New Mexico businesses, North Wind Inc. and Performance Maintenance Inc. (PMI) under the auspices of a Department of Energy mentor-protégé program.
The program provides developmental assistance to enhance the business and technical capabilities of small disadvantaged businesses to perform as contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers.
The agreements were signed at the 9th annual DOE Small Business Conference June 26 in San Antonio, Texas. Present for the signing was Kevin Chalmers, Los Alamos’s Acquisition Services Management (ASM) Division leader, the owners of North Wind and PMI, and Theresa Alvillar-Speake, director of DOE’s Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization in Washington, D.C.
The Lab will assist North Wind in project planning, project management, and developing turnkey services in the areas of environmental management and facility operations. It also will assist North Wind in becoming a successful subcontractor to other government agencies and contractors and private industry.
Under the mentor-protégé agreement with PMI, LANS will assist the janitorial company with the development of best practices in materials and property management, and acquisition and assurance operations management. LANS also will mentor PMI in enhancing its eCommerce capabilities, computer systems networking, development of a supplier hosted web catalog, eSourcing and eAuction opportunities.
“The mentor-protégé program provides great value and opportunity to both the mentor and the protégé,” said Chalmers. “The program promotes long-term business relationships between small business entities and DOE prime contractors. We look forward to working with our new protégé companies and helping contribute to their business plans to support the DOE complex.”
North Wind President Sylvia Medina said, “We are thrilled to be selected as LANL’s protégé and are grateful to have the opportunity to increase our access to challenging opportunities and responsibilities with the support of our mentor.”
PMI President Eric Quintana said the mentor-protégé agreement will help professionalize its relationships with governmental entities and the business world. “PMI is appreciative of this opportunity to be mentored by an eminent organization such as LANL,” said Quintana.
LANS has three mentor-protégé agreements in place under the DOE Program, according to Dennis Roybal, the Laboratory’s Small Business Program Manager.
Last year, the Lab entered into a mentor-protégé agreement with TSAY Construction and Services, LLC, a small business wholly owned and operated by Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan Pueblo) located north of Española.
