Developing small business relationships creates opportunities for both the business and Sandia. The New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program is an example of a unique partnership between Sandia Labs and the State of New Mexico. The program allows Sandia to provide up to $10,000 per year worth of technical advice and assistance to small businesses in New Mexico.
Fiore Industries in Albuquerque realized that hospitals across the nation had no easy way of supporting a person's extremities in cleaning burns, lacerations, and other injuries. Fiore's design of the Debridement Irrigation Extremity Basin allows doctors and nurses to perform these procedures with more comfort to the patient and protection for themselves. Sandia employees assisted Fiore with design and development of a prototype for further evaluation.
Ponderosa Valley Vineyard and Winery in the Jemez Mountains was having a problem with wine storage tanks. A tube used to help prevent oxygen contamination was developing leaks. Sandia's Organic Materials Processing Department used their material expertise and created a mending process to "plug" the leaks and safely save the wine.