CNS signs first mentor-protégé agreement at Pantex
AMARILLO, Texas – Having completed more than 300 federal projects, Brothers Saul and Samuel Maldonado of SAM Engineering & Surveying, Inc. (SAMES) in McAllen, Texas, are no strangers to federal contract work, and were eager to join the ranks of Department of Energy (DOE) subcontractors within the nation’s Nuclear Security Enterprise.
The Texas-based, minority-owned, small business will get that opportunity as part of the Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) Mentor-Protégé Program at the Pantex Plant.
The Mentor-Protégé agreement with SAMES is the first of its kind at Pantex for CNS, which operates the plant for DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration. CNS signed a similar agreement in March at the Y-12 National Security Complex with Hatfield Construction.
Michelle Reichert, CNS chief operating officer said, “We value small businesses. Partnering with them is essential for us to accomplish our important mission for the nation. I’m excited to see how this relationship will further our infrastructure revitalization efforts.”
As the Protégé, SAMES will support the Pantex mission by providing surveying and engineering expertise, and in turn, CNS will offer guidance on business management and development. In fact, SAMES will get right to work surveying and refurbishing some 56 miles of roads on the plant site this summer.
“This agreement is mutually beneficial,” said Ryan Johnston, who manages the CNS small business program at Pantex. “SAMES will provide the unique surveying and engineering expertise we need, while gaining the skills necessary to compete for larger DOE subcontracts.”
DOE Mentor-Protégé Programs seek to foster long-term business relationships between small, disadvantaged business entities and DOE prime contractors, and to increase the overall number of small businesses that receive DOE prime and subcontracts.
Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) operates the Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a single contract for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Pantex and Y-12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on the absolute priorities of safety, security, quality, mission delivery and cost efficiency.
For more information on each site, visit www.pantex.energy.gov or www.y12.doe.gov. Follow Pantex on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Follow Y-12 on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
CONTACT
Allison Roberts
Communications
Office (806) 573-6065
Allison.Roberts@cns.doe.gov