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News | Sept. 19, 2022

Small businesses receive over $1 million in contracts at DLA’s Industry Collider Day

By Jessica Roman, DLA Information Operations

Eight small businesses were awarded nine separate contracts worth over $1 million for innovative national security solutions during the Defense Logistics Agency’s Industry Collider Day Sept. 8.

The awards, given through DLA’s Small Business Innovation Program, are focused on helping startups and small businesses bridge the gap between research and development and having a product ready for market. DLA issued four solicitations before the event for proposals involving several technology domains. The solicitations drew 35 applications.

“We are extremely proud to continue the tradition of being an important point of entry for small businesses and to support innovation in the American economy,” DLA Vice Director Brad Bunn said.

The first contract category supports sustainable green efforts in clothing and textiles. The solicitation challenged companies to develop a proof of concept for the disposal, upcycling or recycling of uniforms for all branches of the military. Two winners were awarded contracts: Unspun Inc., from San Francisco, California, and Florida-based Mainstream Engineering Corporation.

In the second category, businesses were asked to consider the development of a domestic source of energetic materials and precursors such as lead nitrate, potassium nitrate and hexamine at industrial quantities. The technology has potential, if proven, to modernize and improve materials quality and reduce manufacturing time and cost. DLA awarded six contracts in this category with two going to Perpetua Resources of Boise, Idaho. The rest were awarded to Eos Energetics, Inc. of Penrose, Colorado; METSS Corporation of Westerville, Ohio; Resodyn Corporation of Butte, Montana; and NALAS Engineering Services, Inc. of Centerbrook, Connecticut.

The final category aims to develop a viable domestic source of defense-grade coal tar pitch solid. Coal tar pitch is a precursor for a variety of military applications including tactical munitions, strategic rockets and missiles, large advance-launch systems and hypersonic vehicles. Combustion Resources Partners LLC from Provo, Utah, was awarded the single contract in this category. 

Bunn congratulated selectees.

“You now join DLA’s long history of partnerships with small businesses. Your work will help transform and modernize our support of the warfighter,” he said.

DLA’s Small Business Innovation Program includes three research and development competitive award programs, with most of the funding coming from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. They are: Small Business Administration’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs and the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s Rapid Innovation Fund.