PennDOT will host a one-day conference, Pathways to PennDOT on Oct. 18 to connect small, minority, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) with potential contracting opportunities at the department.
Yassmin Gramian
The conference will be held at the Best Western Premier Hotel and Conference Center Union Deposit at 800 East Park Drive in Harrisburg. Registration is free.
“Small and diverse business are central to our communities, and our economy,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “I’m thrilled to host this conference and to help facilitate connecting these critical businesses to opportunities with PennDOT.”
The conference, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. is open to DBE firms, primes, contractors and industry leaders, and will cover such topics as DBE certification, the PennDOT prequalification process, branding strategies, and a panel discussion on best practices from current DBE’s, among other sessions.
Firms can also learn how to participate in PennDOT’s Mentor-Protégé program, which connects DBEs with prime contractors to gain and expand experience in the industry.
To learn more about Pathways to PennDOT or to register for the conference, visit PennDOT’s website. Pre-registration closes on Oct. 7.
A lineup of Photonis’ power tube family of products. PHOTO/PROVIDED
Lancaster-based Photonis Defense was awarded two significant contracts this year from the Navy, launching the 65-employee company on a major growth path.
The largest contract, for almost $38.9 million, announced in March, is primarily for the production, testing and delivery of amplifier microwave power modules.
The smaller contract of the two, at nearly $22 million, announced in May, is for the production, testing and delivery of 125-millimeter wave power modules, as well as incidental hardware services to include evaluation, repair and modifications for the Airborne Threat Simulation Organization.
Both projects, for the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, California, are expected to be completed in May 2027.
Photonis Defense, at 1000 New Holland Ave. in Burle Corporate Park, is a subsidiary of the French firm Photonis.
The site was originally the home of RCA, which later became Burle Industries. In 2005, Burle was acquired by Photonis.
Its website said Photonis Defense “provides state of the art technologies and products pertaining to power tubes, microwave traveling wave tubes, night vision and digital vision solutions to the markets we serve.”
As well as the Department of Defense, that includes the U.S. Department of Energy; federal, local and state agencies; and the commercial market.
Larry Stack, president and CEO, said the two Navy contracts are the largest Photonis Defense has been awarded in the microwave sector since it bought a microwave company, Triton EDT, in 2015.
His business beat out much bigger competitors – which were not named – for the contracts.
Some of the other defense contracts issued at the time went to corporations like Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky Aircraft, Boeing and Rolls-Royce.
About 10 additional employees were recently hired to meet the Navy contract orders, with more to follow as work increases.
It’s a challenge, because these positions have “a ramp-up time,” he said, requiring training periods from nine months to a year and a half.
If an experienced worker announces plans to retire in a year, for example, the replacement needs to be hired as soon as possible to be able to get the necessary one-on-one training, Stack said.
Looking to build a manufacturing plant
The Navy contracts, however, are far from the only work Photonis Defense does. It’s also constructing a new microwave test center and expanding manufacturing of power tubes, digital low-light sensors and night vision systems.
Stack said the company wants to build an image intensifier tube manufacturing plant in Lancaster, at an estimated cost of $25 million and with the potential to add up to 400 employees.
Intensifier tubes are the engine that makes night vision goggles, one of Photonis Defense’s main products.
“We hope to expand the manufacturing of that,” he said.
Photonis Defense supplies 68% of the world’s market for image intensifier tubes. First tier military forces rely upon and trust the company “to satisfy their mission critical needs under dynamic lighting conditions,” the website said.
Officer.com said that includes sensors and image intensifier tubes “that pierce the blackest of nights, along with jammers and communication technologies that deny the enemy their ability to track and engage while U.S. signals are boosted.”
Tube technology is more critical now, in the 21st century, than ever, Stack said.
A major way to boost the market more is to convince the Department of Defense to switch to night vision goggles that are smaller and lighter, he said, which is a new concept.
He said Photonis Defense also sells night vision goggles commercially, through distributors. They’re less powerful than the military ones, and are priced around $3,500 to $7,500.
Hiking, hunting, star gazing, boating and fishing are some of the non-military activities in which people use night vision goggles.
U.S. Small Business Administration today said the Biden-Harris Administration exceeded its small business federal contracting goal, awarding $154.2 billion in contracts to small businesses.
Isabella Casillas Guzman
SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said the awards are an increase of $8 billion from the previous fiscal year.
The share of contracts going to small businesses equates to 27.2 percent of total federal contracting funds. Combined with $72 billion in subprime contracting goals, this historic spend has supported over one million jobs in the American economy, she said.
Overall, the federal government exceeded its goal of 23% in prime contract dollars and earned an “A” on this year’s government-wide Scorecard. Eleven federal agencies earned an “A+” for their agencies’ achievements in small business contracting, and an additional ten agencies received an “A” grade, according to Guzman. SBA sets contracting goals for each agency and works with government buyers to ensure that they prioritize small businesses.
“The Biden-Harris Administration set historic records in small business contracting, including the highest percentage spend to Small Disadvantaged Businesses and growth for our Service-disabled Veteran Small Businesses, which has advanced competition, strengthened local economies, and supported job growth across the nation,” Guzman said.
“By expanding small business opportunities and building equity in federal procurement, we have helped to ensure that federal agencies can fully leverage the extraordinary talent and innovation delivered by our nation’s entrepreneurs,” she added. “Building on the major procurement reforms announced last year; the SBA will continue to further progress in all federal procurement goals so more entrepreneurs can grow their businesses with government contracts, including those presented by President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.”
“These small business contracts represent an incredible impact on the Mid-Atlantic region,“ said SBA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator John Fleming, “infusing more than $53 billion into the economies of DC, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania – the agency’s largest portfolio of federal contractors. That’s nearly 12,500 companies providing quality, American-Made goods and services and employing thousands of U.S. workers, while advancing innovation and growth.”
“Small businesses know how to get the job done, and they have a key role to play in delivering the generational infrastructure investment underway through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We know that it hasn’t been easy for small businesses – particularly those owned by women and people of color – to reap the benefits of past infrastructure investments, and we’re proud of the actions this Administration is taking to level the playing field, remove barriers to opportunities, and increase access to wealth creation for small businesses across America.”
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