The SBTDC/PTAC Program's purpose is to generate employment and improve the general economic condition of the state by assisting North Carolina companies including those eligible for business development programs for local, state and federal government contracts. We provide procurement technical assistance by offering no-fee and confidential counseling on selling your products and/or services to the appropriate local, state or federal government agency. |
MARK MILLS
PTAC Program Director 919.600.6096
GEORGE GRIFFIN
PTAC Counselor Greensboro / Winston-Salem 336.256.9302
REBECCA BARBOUR
PTAC Counselor Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill 919.513.0623
SCOTT BARKER
PTAC Counselor Elizabeth City / Greenville / Wilmington 252.737.1369
DON CARMEN
PTAC Counselor
Fayetteville / Pembroke
910.672.1352
RICHARD SPEIGHTS
PTAC Counselor Charlotte 704.687.0443
|
ADDITIONAL SBTDC RESOURCES
|
ACCELERATE: A BLOG FOR CEOs OF MID-SIZED FIRMS
SBTDC's Strategy and Growth Services blog,
Accelerate, helps CEOs of mid-sized companies make business and leadership improvements through helpful insight, resources, and tools.
Learn more »
TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION SERVICES
The SBTDC's Technology Commercialization Services team provides business counseling to small to mid-sized business owners, university researchers, and entrepreneurs looking to advance their innovations to the marketplace.
Learn more »
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
The SBTDC's International Business Development Specialists assists small and mid-sized businesses with export planning and exporting.
Learn more »
|
|
|
|
By Mark G. Mills, PTAC Program Director at North Carolina State University
|
SAVE THE DATE
MARCH 19 at the U.S. Cellular Center
87 Haywood Street | Asheville, NC 28801
The US Government alone spends more than $500 billion annually for various products and services, yet each year, thousands of contracts bypass small businesses that do not know about or understand how the government buys. Opportunities 2018 is your chance to learn how you can tap into this lucrative market. It is a regional biennial "reverse" trade show and conference.
MARKET FACE-TO-FACE
Market your products and services directly to over 50 federal, state, and local government agencies and large prime contractors in ONE day with ONE sales call.
LEARN NEW SKILLS
Attend series of seminars designed to provide the latest information on doing business with and selling products and services to the government.
MAKE CONNECTIONS
Networking with other small businesses while at Opportunities could lead to contracting partnerships
|
Better Understanding Local Government Contract Opportunities
|
By Scott Barker, PTAC counselor at East Carolina University
|
|
Most small business owners in North Carolina seem to have a fair understanding of the existence of federal and state government contracting opportunities. They might not comprehend some of the finer details affiliated with each of these procurement practices, but they understand that there are opportunities out there.
For the most part, small business owners which have an interest in government contracting think of federal and/or state opportunities. The amount of money the federal government spends each year that is earmarked for small businesses is fairly well known. After all, the federal government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world, and a sizeable part of that budget is targeted towards contracts awarded to small businesses. Likewise, the state of North Carolina also has commendable goals for awarding a significant portion of its contracts to small businesses. Although the total amount of state contract dollars does not come close to the amount of federal dollars that are expended via contract awards, most small businesses in the state are aware of the opportunities listed on the e-Commerce site for North Carolina:
https://www.ips.state.nc.us/IPS/Default.aspx
The one area in which there seems to be an information void among small business owners in North Carolina pertains to local contracting opportunities. Each municipality has its own practices and mechanisms for awarding contracts which makes establishing a clear understanding of this myriad opportunity all the more difficult to master. One can find these opportunities listed on most city and county web-sites as well as posted in local periodicals.
If you are a small business owner and are looking to explore government contracting opportunities, there seems to be an overwhelming preference to look at federal and state contracting first, but it might prove to be worthwhile to explore the local municipality procurement possibilities that are out there as opportunities that might be easier to win. For additional information on some of the county and city contracting opportunities visit this link on the
http://www.sbtdc.org/programs/ptac/selling-to-local-government.
|
PTAC Client Success Story
|
MOUT Solutions, Wilson, NC
|
By Scott Barker, PTAC counselor at East Carolina University
|
|
If experience is key to small business success, then newly-formed MOUT Solutions, a shock-absorbing concrete company, will grow quickly.
Mark Fulford and his wife Linda founded the company in May of 2017 after purchasing the concrete production facility from Ballistics Technology International. MOUT has been a PTAC client since its inception and generated a strong interest in government contracting following its attendance at Marketplace in May 2017
http://www.sbtdc.org/events/marketplace/.
On November 20, MOUT Solutions secured a patent license for the Army's SACON (Shock-Absorbing Concrete) recipe to continue construction of small-arms training facilities for the military. Mark Fulford managed BTI's facility in Wilson for 11 years before the Canadian-owned company pulled out of North Carolina. With Fulford's experience building shoot houses, rifle ranges, bunker trenches, and training villages, which includes a long list of projects for the Department of Defense, law enforcement, and private customers, the newly-organized MOUT Solutions seamlessly, continued operations and sales.
Mark Fulford inspects SACON walls at the MAC-3 grenade shoot house MOUT Solutions produced for the Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune. MOUT is currently working on major projects for the Army at Fort Polk, the Marines at 29 Palms, and a smaller project for the Navy SEALs in Virginia Beach. The ballistic absorbing SACON concrete, patented by the Army in 2001, is a high-priority product for facility managers in the Department of Defense who use it to build those training complexes and bullet traps. Marksmanship training is a requirement in all military branches conducted at over 2,000 firing ranges in the United States. In a typical year, soldiers, sailors, and airmen collectively fire over 300 million rounds. To prevent the accumulation of lead in groundwater and soils, which could ultimately reduce operational readiness if environmental regulators impose training restrictions, the Army Corps of Engineers' Geotechnical Structures Laboratory invented SACON, a low-density, fiber-reinforced, foamed concrete that minimizes ricochets and captures bullets without cracking. The Army estimates the use of SACON saves it an annual $180 million in soil cleanup costs, and MOUT is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the wide range of opportunities in the upcoming years.
|
|
|