Entrepreneurship a plus for Alion's small partners

AVW Technologies Inc. was aone-man shop six years agowhen Alion Science andTechnology Corp. tapped it for aNavy acquisition project. Now AVW, aveteran-owned small business based inChesapeake, Va., has about 50 employeesand handles a variety of testing,evaluation support and engineeringmanagement programs for Alion."One of our people was dealing with[the founder], gave him some advice,then gave him more work," said PhyllisTurvey, Alion's vice president and directorof contracts and procurements.Alion has another long-term relationshipwith Caddo Solutions, which hasbeen providing Alion's office equipmentand supplies for 11 years."When comparing small businesses,Alion looks at all aspects of what theybring to the market," said Angela Gress-McKinster, Alion's small-business liaisonofficer, who works with Turvey onteaming relationships.Alion focuses on naval architectureand marine engineering, defense operations,systems engineering, informationmanagement, and technology alongwith nuclear and environmental sciencesand wireless spectrum engineering.Alion uses small businesses onprojects that involve modeling and simulation,manufacturing, governmentacquisition, and test and evaluation.The company has about 800 smallbusinesses in its database of potentialpartners, which have specialized expertise.For example, it has teamed withCraig Technologies Inc., a small disadvantagedbusiness, 8(a)/woman-ownedfirm, on operations and planning for anArmy contract and engineering andinformation technology services.Alion's agenda for 2009 and 2010includes even greater concentration oninformation technology networkadministration, cybersecurity, databaseadministration and help-desk support.It is looking for partners who areCapability Maturity Model Integration(CMMI) level 4 or 5 certified, Gress-McKinster said.To find small-business partners, shemonitors the Central ContractorRegistration. Alion also is redesigningits Web site to add an online registrationfeature. The site should launch bythe end of the year.In addition to running Alion SmallBusiness Days and participating in variousgovernment contractor fairs, thecompany will take part in a forum runby the U.S. Women's Chamber ofCommerce, National VeteransConference and Reservation EconomicSummit early next year.Gress-McKinster advises companiesto "familiarize yourself with Alion capabilitiesand contract vehicles.""I'll do my best to see if [their] capabilitiesmatch our needs and put themin front of our program people," shesaid.For various projects, Alion looks forcompanies with specific capabilities,ranging from security clearances to ISOcertifications to knowledge of federalexport laws ? in addition to fundamentaltechnical capabilities. Prospectivepartners should be "prepared to tellAlion how you can help us successfullywin and fulfill contacts," Gress-McKinster said.