From Harford County government:
Defense Contractors and Office Park Developers Get the Play-by-Play
(Eatontown, NJ) – – Harford County Executive David R. Craig, the Office of Economic Development and the Harford County Chamber of Commerce hosted over 100 defense contractors and office park developers at a recent football-themed reception designed to introduce construction projects in Harford County.
Held at the Eatontown Sheraton in New Jersey, “Position Yourself For A Touchdown In Harford County” showcased not only office parks, but also quality of life and opportunities in the City of Aberdeen, Havre de Grace and the Town of Bel Air. The program was hosted by Scott Garceau, Baltimore sportscaster and personality; Michael McCrary, Baltimore Ravens Pro-Bowl and Super Bowl star; and Sean Landeta, punter for the New York Giants World Champion teams and a graduate of Towson University.
Twenty-four sponsors participated in the event, which reached over 60 different defense contractors. “The reception enabled us to share our game plan withthe companies who will be doing business in the County and give them the confidence that Harford County is a winner in the BRAC efforts,” said Jim Richardson, Director of Economic Development. “Our goal is to showcase theCounty’s versatility for living, working and playing right near APG.”
The Army is preparing to move approximately 4,000 positions to Aberdeen Proving Ground in 2010. The construction of the Communications and Electronics Campus on APG is on target and the Army will take possession of four of the new buildings this spring. To date, Harford County has welcomed 21 new defense contactor companies.
We will be the Arlington of MD.
God help us.
How about instead of trying to bring in out of town contractors, we hire out the small businesses in our own county!?! Seems like there are a lot of groups who want to get the giant defense contractors here but there are almost no ways for the small business (and I am not talking solely about construction type jobs but IT and other knowledge workers) without having an “in” to local procurement offices. I think from recent Harco studies, a large number of knowledge work either drives or uses the MARC to go to DC everyday. I run my own consulting firm, live within 10 miles of APG and have not seen many outreaches to local firms that provide knowledge based services.
One of the things that need to be done is a Small Business Procurement fair. Trust me, one of the things I have noticed is that most Contracting Officers want “1” big contractor to alleviate all the supposed headaches of hiring Sub-K’s and 1099’s. Those big contractors don’t want to do it either but that pesky law keeps getting in the way! For BRAC to work successfully, there should have been a percentage of work required to be locally sourced. There are plenty of these fairs in the DC area solely to keep the cost down and quality up since it is a very competitive market. Let’s see a little outreach to the “local team” before we bring in the outside hired guns.
Joe, the contractors they are referring to are Technology research contractors that include both small and large firms. Small businesses in the tech domain have the ability to compete for contracts under the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Initiative. This program is designed to be a gateway for small business to get the “in” that they need to compete for larger contracts and give them a chance to develop something for the commercial realm as well. I’m not familiar with the world of consulting but perhaps you can find similar programs in the realm of consulting as well. Start at this site http://www.sbir.gov/
Thanks for the link, however the article does state specifically “football-themed reception designed to introduce construction projects in Harford County.” Like I stated before, I see nothing of note from Harco or the state for outreach to small tech companies/consultants in the local APG/EPG area. I review the Susquehanna Workforce and Chamber of Commerce sites and they have either “general plans” or basic job fairs. I would rather not go back to being a wage slave now that I have almost 10 years invested into my own business. I would rather see a Procurement Fair or similar activity to get my name out to those offices directly instead of a hope and pray listing on FedBizOpps. Thanks again though!