Mentor-Protégé Program Supports Small Business Success at Savannah River Site

AIKEN, S.C. — A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is helping small businesses through the DOE Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP), more than doubling a protégé firm’s revenue, improving its capabilities and broadening its customer base.

The Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) MPP improves the subcontracting abilities of small businesses within the DOE complex. Since 2016, the program at SRS has grown from managing one protégé annually to managing five protégés each year, increasing the SRNS investment in small businesses over that period from $400,000 to $41 million.

“We offer technical and developmental support to protégés, equipping them with the necessary knowledge, skills and capabilities to successfully compete for DOE prime contracts,” said Lisa Tanner, SRNS Supply Chain Small Business liaison officer.

In 2018, SRNS selected CTI and Associates Inc. (CTI), a small construction and remediation company based in Michigan, to perform field work.

“CTI has grown significantly with SRS expanding our task orders to include more capable jobs and increased opportunity,” said Morgan Subbarayan, CTI president. “This mentorship has allowed us to grow our production payroll, improve infrastructure, enhance our safety program and completely transform our business and technical capabilities.”

In 2020, CTI faced significant challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. Its partnership with SRNS proved to be a turning point, as it expanded CTI’s capabilities and grew the company from 91 to over 200 employees.

“The confidence SRNS has instilled into our business has created a work culture that is thriving and constantly evolving,” Subbarayan added. “We have expanded from simple deconstruction to include heavy civil and rad exposure, capturing the attention of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Hanford.”

To date, CTI has successfully delivered 20 task orders with $14.7 million of scope ahead of schedule. One of those projects led the Lower Three Runs project team to earn the Secretary of Energy Achievement Award.

“The utilization of the Mentor-Protégé Program by SRNS to support and grow small businesses, while accomplishing the demanding management and operations mission, is a shining example at Savannah River Site and across the entire DOE complex,” said Robert Meek, DOE-Savannah River small business program manager.

Selected protégé companies perform mission critical scope for SRS to include deactivation and demolition, construction, infrastructure services, staffing and information technology.

“Our team continues to transform the MPP into an acquisition strategy for functional leaders, allowing companies like CTI to deliver innovative solutions for DOE,” said Jay Johnson, SRNS deputy vice president of Contracts and Supply Chain Management. “The MPP Center of Excellence is a unique opportunity for protégés to connect with SRNS leadership and effectively engage with other small businesses outside of their competitive market.”

The SRNS MPP will continue to support small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, companies in Historically Underutilized Business Zones, historically Black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions of higher learning.

-Contributor: Mackenzie McNabb