PTAC training helps area businesses cash in on opportunities

While many automotive suppliers are struggling to stay afloat, Laurie Moncrieff is expanding her business into new markets with a little help from the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce photo

Laurie Moncrieff

The owner of Schmald Tool & Die Inc. and Adaptive Manufacturing Solutions (AMS) in Burton has reshaped her business model and is diversifying her business by selling to the
military.

Long before current economic conditions hit, Moncrieff wanted to learn how to secure government contracts and sell to the military. But for many small business owners like Moncrieff, the regulations and paperwork required to secure government contracts often can prove too difficult without assistance.

“You need somebody to guide you,” Moncrieff said. “And if you take the time to establish a relationship with PTAC staff at the Regional Chamber, they look out for you. They bend over backwards to help you once you get to know them. I just think they do a great job.”

On April 17, other area company owners will have the chance to learn how they can diversify their businesses by selling to the military during a three-hour seminar, Doing Business with the Defense
Supply Center of Columbus, at the Mott Regional Technology Center building. During the session, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., participants will learn all the ins and outs involved in securing government contracts, including how to navigate the military’s online bidding system.

Moncrieff highly recommends PTAC-sponsored training to area business owners. Had it not been for PTAC staff members at the Regional Chamber, Moncrieff readily admits that she probably would
not be selling parts to the military today.

Since last fall, AMS has secured six military contracts. Her first contract—worth $29,000—was to build returnable shipping containers for the Department of Defense. Now, Moncrieff is waiting to hear back on a couple more potential contracts. The bidding process has gone so well that Moncrieff recently decided to hire one staff member devoted solely to submitting bids for government and military contracts.

Usually, it takes business owners anywhere from six to 18 months to learn how to bid on military contracts, said Andrew Hayes, PTAC procurement specialist at the Regional Chamber. But Moncrieff was a quick study—within one month of the training that PTAC staff provided, she was already bidding
on jobs. And within three months’ time, AMS had already won its first contract, Hayes said.

Small business owners—particularly auto parts suppliers—have a golden opportunity when it comes to selling to the military, Moncrieff said.

“You can’t sit back and wait for the economy to change—you have to get out there and figure out what you need to do next. I think there’s more opportunity in this market than there has been in a long time—if you’re willing to go out there and get it,” she said. “The last thing you want to do is wait for the auto industry.”

And for small business owners, “military and government spending is an area that if they’re not thinking about it, they’re missing the boat,” Moncrieff said.

The rest of the economy may be contracting, Hayes said, but that’s just not the case with the military.

“While the main stage economy is shrinking, the defense industry is expanding at a rapid pace,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for automotive suppliers to diversify into the defense industry.”

Want to learn how to grow your business and profits by securing military and government contracts? To find out more about the April 17 seminar or to register, click on Selling to Government (PTAC)
at www.thegrcc.org/ptac. Cost to attend is $10, and space is limited to 100 people. The seminar will feature Eleanor Holland, director of the small business office at the Defense Supply Center Columbus
(DSCC). For additional information about the seminar or how to obtain training similar to Moncrieff’s, contact Andrew Hayes at (810) 600-1438.

From the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce's April 2009 Inside Business publication.