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Kennedy Space Center Business Expo to focus on government contracting

by Kathy Hagood
Brevard Technical Journal

Government contracting will be the focus of the 14th Annual Kennedy Space Center Business Expo Oct. 19.

Technical leads, buyers and vendors will have the opportunity to meet, greet and exchange information from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Cruise Terminal No. 4 at Port Canaveral.

The Kennedy Space Center Small Business Council, 45th Space Wing at Patrick AFB and the Canaveral Port Authority are again co-sponsoring the popular annual event that brings business leaders together with representatives of NASA, the Air Force and prime contractors. Admission is free.

Buses will run every 30 minutes between KSC the expo so that a large number of Space Center employees will be able to attend the event.

The biggest difference in the expo this year is that the event will also include representatives from all the NASA centers, including Johnson Space Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Marshall Spaceflight Center. Private meetings with those reps will be scheduled for several days following the expo.

The inclusion of center representatives is serving as an extra draw for the event, pulling in exhibitors from across the country, said Gloria Marsh, NASA expo coordinator and small business liaison.

"A separate event with the NASA representatives is usually held once a year. This year, they decided it would be more cost effective to combine it with our expo," Marsh said.

With the extra interest it's not surprising that exhibition space already is full. Only 175 spaces for exhibitors were available.

The availability of reps from the various centers is a benefit for area businesses that haven't had the opportunity to find out how to do business with those centers, Marsh said. It's also a benefit for the government.

"We're always looking to find additional alternative suppliers to increase competition and get the best prices," Marsh said.

The government is also always looking for ways to do more business with women- and minority-owned businesses.

That's also the case for Cape Canaveral Spaceport prime contractors including United Space Alliance, The Boeing Co., Lockheed-Martin, and Space Gateway Support.

"While aerospace is the focus, there are so many needs at the Spaceport that just about any type of business could contract with the government or a prime contractor," Marsh said.

Non-technical needs include temporary administrative staffing, printing and janitorial service to name just a few.

While needs are diverse, the biggest challenge for small businesses trying to break into government contracting is finding the right person to do business with, Marsh said. By contacting various government and prime contractor small business liaisons, businesses can be pointed in the proper direction.

"We know it can be frustrating to business people to have to call and be transferred over and over again to find the right person," Marsh said. "By working through the small business office of the government agency or prime contractor businesses can avoid that."

Representatives of the various small business offices will be on hand at the expo to provide assistance. The expo will also offer the local business community the chance to network with other suppliers to create mutually beneficial business relationships, Marsh said.

Event exhibitors will include Ace Commercial & Industrial Supply, Aclarus Corp., Aero-Industrial Sales Inc., AISG, All Points Logistics, Allen Advertising Inc., AM Metal Finishing Inc., Ambient Technologies Inc., American Distributors Inc., American Services Technology Inc., Andrews Filter & Supply Corp., Anteon, Atlantic Business Systems, Bayshore Technologies Inc., Best Western Oceanfront Resort, Biosphere International, Inc., Blueridge Ind Sales, Cambridge Systems Inc., Cartridge Source of America, Central Florida Record Destruction, Certified Slings Inc., Chastain Skillman Inc., Cintas Document Management, Clancy & Theys Construction Co., Coastal Cable Assemblies & Components Inc., Command Technologies Inc., Compulink Cable Assemblies Inc., Computer Sciences Raytheon, Cortron Inc., Crane Rental Corp., Cubic Defense Applications, DataCom Distribution Inc., Dresser Inc. Pressure Regulation Group, E&T Plastics Inc., EEI Manufacturing Services, EGP Inc., Ellis Environmental Group LLC, ETSI Personnell, Florida Business Furniture Inc., Florida Casa Realty, Florida Institute of Technology, GMC Construction, Gold Coast Wire Assemblies Inc., Hesco Bastion LTD, IEEE Consultants Network, IGov, Ikon Office Solutions, Impact Distributing, Innovative Computer Environments Inc., Interface & Control Systems Inc., Interface Technology Group Inc., Irvine Access Floors Inc., Jag Components Inc., James A Cummings Inc., JIT Cylinders, JIT Industries, JJ Galleher Corp., KNCT, Inc., L-3 Communi-cations, Lighthouse Coatings, Lubrication Specialists of Northeast Florida, Lyme Computer Systems Inc., LynTek Engineering Inc., Mainstream Engineering Corp., Marshall Manufacturing Corp., Martin Associates of South Florida Inc., Maryed International Inc., MasterMedia Technology, Maya Telecom Inc., MegaFitness, Modu-Built Industries Inc., Moten Tate Inc., MSS Staffing, NTA Corporate Communication, OEI, Olsen Industrial Sales Inc., OT Trans Inc., Patterson Fan Co., Pelican Sales, PIP Printing, Plato Consulting Inc., Princeton Softech, Professional Diversified Services Inc., QualityU, Quietly Making Noise LLC, RMK Inc., Roadway Express Inc., Roofing Technologies, Satellite Electronics Engineering Inc., Sherwin Williams, Simplex-Grinnell, Solares Florida Corp., Solvetech Corp., Sonman Inc., Source One Distributors Inc., Southern Air Repair, Space Coast Fire and Safety Inc., Space Coast Promotions, Specialty Hose Corp., Specific Systems Limited Dynatherm, Spherion Staffing, Stasis Technologies Inc., Superior Technical Resources Inc., System Studies & Simulation Inc., Tech USA, Technical Sales & Applications Inc., The Battery Bank, The Blumenauer Corp., The Whitlock Group, TorcUP Inc., Toshiba Digital Solutions Division, Total Media Inc., TPSi Business Solutions, Tropical Data Solutions Inc.,Tydir Construction Corp., Tyrone's Cleaning Service, United Rentals Inc., Webster University, Wind2 Software Inc. and WP Hickman Systems Inc.

For more information, call 867-7353 or visit www.expo.ksc.nasa.gov