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NASA Dryden Contractors Win Top SBA Awards

Two contractors at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base are among more than 100 American small businesses honored in April by the U.S. Small Business Administration, one of them as National Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year.
Hampton, Va.-based Analytical Services & Materials (AS&M) Inc. and Arcata Associates, Las Vegas, were chosen as Prime Contractor of the Year in SBA Region III and Region IX, respectively. AS&M Inc. was then chosen from the regional winners as Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year.
NASA Dryden officials nominated the two companies for excellence in the quality of their work at the center.
The awards are part of the SBA’s 2006 National Small Business Week, an annual event honoring excellence among small business, corporate and government entities.
“It was a honor to nominate two outstanding firms, Arcata and AS&M for the SBA Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year,” said Robert Medina, Dryden Small Business Specialist.
“It’s great that both firms have been recognized by the SBA as Regional Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year,” he added. “This tells me that Dryden has two of the 10 best federal government prime small business contractors this year, a first for the center. NASA and Dryden are very fortunate to have firms with the technical capabilities, employees and management to support our programs and missions.”
At an April 13 breakfast meeting of honorees, AS&M President Jalaiah Unnam and his wife Vijaya, chief executive officer, were introduced to President George W. Bush.
“We feel very honored to have been selected as the SBA 2006 National Prime Contractor of the Year,” said Jalaiah Unnam. “We know that the competition is exceptional and that makes our winning even more special to us.
“AS&M has outstanding employees at all levels and in all areas of our business, and, of course, they are the driving force behind all of our rewards and accomplishments. We are very grateful and would like to thank NASA Dryden for nominating us for this recognition.”
AS&M Inc. was established in 1983 with five employees. It now has more than 180 employees, about 60 of them at Dryden. In addition to NASA, the firm provides engineering and technical services to a diverse customer base that includes Lockheed Martin, The Boeing Company, Goodrich and General Electric.
Tim Wong, president and chief executive officer of SBA Region IX winner Arcata Associates, said his firm was “honored to be selected as the best small business prime contractor from a region that includes thousands of small businesses with headquarters in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada.”
“It’s great to work with a customer that takes pride in the success of its contractors, and we appreciate NASA Dryden’s nomination. Most important, I want to thank Arcata’s employees for excelling both individually and as a team in providing our customer with such outstanding support.”
Arcata Associates, founded in 1980, has 320 employees in 11 states, 111 at Dryden. A provider of engineering, information technology and multimedia services, its customers include the U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy as well as NASA and the General Services Administration.
Small Business Week honors individuals and businesses from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico with various awards, recognizing small businesses, lenders and contractors, contracting officers and advocates for small business. In addition, special emphasis was given this year to honoring businesses recovering from natural disasters and those who helped businesses and individuals during recovery.
PHOTO EDITORS: A publication-quality photo to support this release is available for downloading at: www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/newsphotos.
For more information about NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and its research projects, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden on the Internet.
 

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Dryden Flight Research Center
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Edwards, California 93523
Phone 661-276-3449
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Alan Brown
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Phone: (661) 276-2665
Alan.Brown@dfrc.nasa.gov