ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has presented Sandia with its Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence (Research and Development category) at the 33rd Annual Joint Industry/SBA Procurement Conference/Business Opportunity Expo held in Washington, D.C.
“While we are delighted with this exceptional and prestigious honor, we intend to maintain our momentum and continue to seek even greater opportunities for enhanced business relationships with our valued small business partners,” says Frank Figueroa, Sandia’s Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Business Management. Sandia’s small business contracts, valued at $318 million, equal 59.6 percent of the Labs’ commercial contracts.
Created in 1991 and named for the president under whom the SBA was founded, the Eisenhower Award for Excellence honors large federal contractors that have excelled in using small businesses as suppliers and subcontractors. To be eligible, companies must first receive the Award of Distinction, which the SBA presents to large federal contractors with exceptional small business subcontracting programs. Of the more than 2,500 companies in SBA’s portfolio of large federal contractors, only two percent have earned this award. Sandia also received the Award of Distinction in 1989 and 1991.