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 in San Antonio, Texas. Present for the signing was Kevin Chalmers of Los Alamos National Laboratory's Acquisition Services Management Division, 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 Laboratory 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 help North Wind become a successful subcontractor to other government agencies and contractors and private industry. Under the mentor-protégé agreement with PMI, the Laboratory and LANS will help the janitorial company develop 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, and 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 the company's 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 Laboratory 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.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.