A few hours before the snow hit north Alabama on Wednesday, Raytheon Missile Systems and CFD Research Corporation (CFDRC) came together in Huntsville to sign a $1.7 million Mentor-Protege agreement approved by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
The three-year contract, which was officially approved Jan. 16, allows Raytheon to provide mentoring to CFDRC in the areas of product development, commercialization and other business systems and processes.
Officials with Raytheon, CFDRC, Oakwood University and the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County were present at the signing event.
"As we grow, I think the things that this program brings -- staff processes and procedures and certifications -- are what a small business needs to be competitive in this community," said Joseph Cosumano, Jr., president and chief executive officer of CFDRC.
Established by Congress in 1991, the U.S. Department of Defense Mentor-Protege program helps small businesses boost their participation in prime and subcontract awards by creating long-term relationships with larger companies.
DoD contractors (mentors) receive incentives to develop subcontracting relationships with small business proteges. Four Mentor-Protege teams with Huntsville ties recently won the prestigious Nunn Perry Award for their involvement in the program.
"Sometimes larger companies get a little stifled and they don't see past the quarter and they don't see past the core," said Kevin Byrnes, vice president and site executive for Raytheon Huntsville. "I think it's important that we keep the pipeline full of new thoughts, energies and innovations because that's how you grow. If we are both to achieve our growth goals, doing it together is the best possible outcome."
CFDRC, a woman-owned small business founded in 1987, employs 95 and is headquartered at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville. The company provides aerospace, biomedical and life science, energy and materials products and services.