Laboratory awards contracts to two Española businesses

Contact: Steve Sandoval, steves@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9206 (01-108)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Oct. 15, 2001 -- Two interim contracts totaling $1 million to Cook's Home Center and Hacienda Home Center in Española were recently awarded by the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The contracts are for $500,000 to each small business, explained Florence Serna, a contract administrator in Los Alamos' Procurement Group.

The two businesses will primarily be supplying building supplies, hardware and lumber to the Laboratory, much of it for work done by the Laboratory's largest subcontract company, Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico.

Frankie Manzanares and Kelly Armstrong are the primary points of contact at Cook's Home Center, while Joseph Sanchez is the Lab's primary point of contact at Hacienda Home Center.

Serna said the Laboratory solicited bids for these goods from several sources. The two Española businesses and one from Santa Fe responded to the solicitation. The new contracts, she added, have been in place about a month. The contracts are interim contracts pending the issuance by the Laboratory of new Just-In-Time subcontracts.

"These contracts demonstrate the Laboratory's continued interest in small businesses in the community," said Serna. "We are always looking for purchasing opportunities in Northern New Mexico and are working with Laboratory personnel who make purchases for their organizations to stress the benefits of purchasing locally whenever possible."

Carlos Chacon of Los Alamos' Small Business Program Office added that his office is working with Cook's and Hacienda to obtain Historically Underutilized Business-zone certification. "The HUB zones contracting program is designed to stimulate economic development in urban and rural areas by creating federal contracting opportunities for small businesses," Chacon said.

Small businesses in so-called HUB zones must, among other things, have 35 percent of their workforce residing in the area where the business is located; be located in a historically underutilized business zone where unemployment is high and family median income is below federal guidelines; must be considered a small business under traditional federal Small Business Administration guidelines; and must be locally owned by at least one U.S. citizen. The businesses also must maintain their principal business offices in the designated HUB zone area.

Chacon said once a business has been HUB zone certified they are eligible to participate in HUB zone procurements with the Laboratory and other federal agencies.

For additional information about Laboratory small business outreach efforts, call 667-4410 or write to sbo@lanl.gov by electronic mail.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.