|
Business Oregon Awards $1.7 Million to Support Small Advanced Manufacturing Businesses in Oregon
14 businesses were awarded grants to fund necessary costs to gain, participate in, or retain a federal contract.
Federal contract opportunities are a great way for small and medium-sized businesses to grow, but achieving and retaining federal compliance standards can be challenging. Business Oregon announces it is helping businesses meet those standards, and awarded $1,762,662 to 14 businesses representing five regions and nine counties in Oregon.
The awards will help small, advanced manufacturing businesses in Oregon to attain the compliance standards required for federal contract participation. Landing and retaining a federal contract can drastically increase a business’ competitiveness in the advanced manufacturing industry and supports small business growth in Oregon.
“Despite economic uncertainty across the country, here in Oregon we are leaning into maximizing Oregon's small manufacturing companies' competitiveness," Governor Kotek said. "These awards will not only create good-paying jobs; they create pathways for Oregonians to build good-paying careers in manufacturing."
Through Business Oregon’s business retention and expansion efforts, the agency identified Oregon companies’ needs in the aerospace, defense, and metals industries around certifications necessary for federal contracts such as Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and Aerospace 9100 (AS9100) Certification. Eligible project costs for the awarded grants included general equipment and machinery purchase, technical assistance consulting fees, employee training costs, IT equipment purchases, and more.
“Many of the federal certifications these businesses need change frequently and are expensive to implement, imposing a significant cost barrier for small businesses,” said Sophorn Cheang, Director of Business Oregon. “Through this funding, Business Oregon continues our commitment to growing globally competitive industry sectors and removing barriers to increase access for companies that need it the most.”
The funding for the awards come from the Governor’s Strategic Reserve Fund, which is a limited fund that offers targeted investments for business retention and expansion, as well as to assist Oregon businesses in capacity-building. Projects considered for funding through the Governor's Strategic Reserve Fund are put through an extensive internal vetting process and ultimately submitted to Governor Kotek for final approval.
Combined, the 14 awarded companies represent 466 employees and are expected to create an additional 144 jobs because of the supported projects — a job increase of 31%. Additionally, 84% of the new jobs are expected to pay above county average wages. While not a program requirement, it is expected that many of the awardees will secure new federal contracts as the result of this investment, bringing additional outside investments into Oregon.
Each of the awarded companies will contribute public benefits as a part of their contract, which includes activities such as financial support for local non-profits, schools, and community organizations; annual student internships; participating in school career events or hosting student tours to build awareness of available career pathways; development of academic scholarship programs; mentorship for early-stage companies; and convening of professional development opportunities, among others.
The companies who received awards are listed below.
- Aviatrix (Sherwood) to attain CMMC Level 2 certification
- Cascade System Technology (Hillsboro) to attain CMMC Level 2 certification
- Continuous Solutions (Portland) to attain AS9100 certification
- Ether Form (McMinnville) to attain CMMC Level 2 certification
- Fulcrum Technologies (Tualatin) to attain AS9100 certification
- Fusion (Hillsboro) to attain CMMC Level 2 certification
- Hardin Optical (Bandon) to attain CMMC Level 2 certification
- NativeWest (Portland) to attain AISC (with seismic endorsement) and AS9100 certifications
- Overwatch Imaging (Hood River) to attain CMMC Level 2 certification
- Phenix Solutions (McMinnville) to attain CMMC Level 2 certification
- PMIC (Corvallis) to attain CMMC Level 2 certification
- The Ulven Companies (Hubbard) to attain CMMC Level 2 certification
- Ti Squared Technologies (Albany) to attain NIST SP 800-171 compliance
- WRICO Generators (Eugene) to attain CMMC and NFPA-110 certifications
To learn more, visit www.oregon.gov/biz/programs/AMFCCF/.
|
