ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Fourteen New Mexico companies, most of them small businesses, have been chosen to provide about $135 million in general, electrical, mechanical and civil construction work at Sandia National Laboratories.
The companies are subcontractors for the labs and will compete for individual construction projects as they occur, said Krista Smith, senior manager of Sandia’s Procurement Operations Department. The general construction subcontracts run five years and the civil, mechanical and electrical three years.
In New Mexico, Sandia for years has competed construction work through construction partnership agreements, bundled together by discipline. “Having a pre-qualified group of subcontractors allows for competitive prices and a quick turnaround, and allows suppliers to gain experience and know-how with Sandia’s facilities requirements,” Smith said. “Construction partnerships also have improved Sandia’s construction safety performance over the past decade.”
The subcontractors selected for general construction projects are Applied Construction Technologies 2, Engineering Constructors Inc., H+P Construction Services, SDV Construction, Summit Construction Co. and TEF Construction. The electrical contractors are Applied Construction Technologies 2, Del Rio Enterprises Inc., Enterprise Electrical Services and U.S. Electrical Corp. The mechanical contractors are HDL&M Construction Services, H+P Construction Services, Rupert Plumbing and Heating Co. and Scoggin Mechanical Industries Inc. The civil contractors are RMCI Inc., Summit Construction Co. and TLC Plumbing and Utility.
All the companies are New Mexico based and all but two, RMCI and TLC, are small businesses.
“These awards show Sandia is dedicated to finding and using diverse, highly qualified, small business suppliers to help the laboratories achieve its national security mission,” Smith said. “These construction partnership agreements demonstrate and reinforce our commitment to New Mexico’s small business community.”
Sandia’s reviewers informed suppliers in the community last year about the re-bidding of the construction partnership agreements through a variety of outreach efforts, Smith said. The selected companies were among 25 firms that submitted bids. More than 70 companies expressed interest in the agreements.
The bidders underwent a competitive and rigorous selection process that included meeting minimum mandatory requirements, providing information about their qualifications and technical skills, undergoing a review by a six-member technical and safety team at Sandia and completing multiple reviews by the National Nuclear Security Administration, said Devin DeMenno, a subcontract manager in Sandia’s Infrastructure Operations Procurement Department. “All the partners are pre-qualified for facility clearances, safety, quality and technical capability to allow for us to safely and effectively execute mission requirements,” he said.
The minimum requirements included being in business for at least five years, being licensed for the applicable construction discipline and having a safety record that meets certain Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements, DeMenno said.
While much of the construction at Sandia falls under the partnership agreements, there are many other types of construction work that companies can bid on, often found on the labs’ Business Opportunities Website. Such projects include maintenance, demolition and large-scale construction projects. Partnership subcontractors are listed on Sandia’s website and may be contacted for potential subcontracting opportunities.
“The construction partnerships are a strategic sourcing plan to ensure that construction projects at Sandia will be procured and executed as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible,” Smith said. “We also want to ensure there are as many opportunities as possible for companies that want to work with Sandia.”
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