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Posts Tagged ‘David Pease’

Crib Notes

Wednesday, September 5th, 2012

The Civil War-era building in the heart of downtown Keene belies the lean, green, sophisticated 21st century manufacturing operation inside the brick walls, with its state-of-the-art computer numerical controlled machinery operated by 43 skilled workers.

Whitney Brothers makes superior quality wood furniture, storage, display and educational play products for children. Their products can be found in schools, childcare centers, libraries and churches around the world.

Today, the plant hums at near capacity as it works to fulfill the largest single contract in its history and it’s an unlikely one: An order from the US Army.

It’s for a total of 3,614 cribs needed to upgrade its child development centers, located on military bases around the world. The order is a 3-year-contract, with two, one-year renewable options. The first year totals $866,000.

Production is humming at Whitney Brothers in Keene.

“Our company believes that childcare and early learning in a child’s first five years are critical to develop into productive citizens and we applaud the US Army for its support of those same values,” said David Stabler, president of Whitney Brothers. “We appreciate that the army recognized our American-made products represent better quality, safety and overall value vs. low-cost imports.”

Winning the contract took patience and perseverance and required meticulous preparation. It began in 2003, when Stabler met with Martha Keene of NH-PTAP, a program of the Division of Economic Development that helps New Hampshire companies sell their products and services to federal, state and local governments. He evaluated the government market, performed the necessary registrations and developed a strategy to generate government sales through the company’s existing network of distributors versus selling directly to the federal government.

The pivotal event in the process would not happen for another eight years. In 2011, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission enacted standards that necessitated the replacement of older cribs in public and private childcare centers with newer, safety-compliant units by the end of 2012. This included childcare facilities sponsored by the government, such as the US Army worldwide Childcare Development Centers. Whitney Brothers had prepared diligently for this opportunity, resulting in the US Army contract award in May 2012.

“We acknowledge the vital role that the NHPTAP and (the Department of Resources and Economic Development) played in helping us win this important contract,” said Brian Vaillancourt, director of sales and marketing. “These publicly funded organizations and the programs, training and assistance they provide helped us gain full visibility in front of the federal government customer and acquire this order. We advocate the current federal administration continue to support these invaluable resources.”

To fulfill the contract, Whitney Brothers hired 13 new employees – a 32 percent increase to its existing workforce.

 

Dave Pease, CCAS

Program Manager

NH Procurement Technical Assistance Program

dave.pease@dred.state.nh.us

 

 

So You Want to Sell to the Government?

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Over 600 New Hampshire companies this year have learned that there are millions of dollars in state and federal contracts available through the New Hampshire Procurement Technical Assistance Program.  In an effort to spread the good news about this revenue generating program, the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development has scheduled a free webinar titled “Selling to the Government – a Sound Business Decision” as part of the free NH BizCast series slated for Wednesday, April 28th  from noon-1 p.m.

“Learning how to navigate through the government procurement process is a true art,” said New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Interim Director Roy Duddy. “There are millions of dollars and thousands of opportunities available for local companies to sell their products and services to the government, but it’s a process that requires a lot of education and effort. We’re pleased to have this opportunity to share this valuable information to businesses through this interactive webinar.”

David N. Pease, PTAP Manager

David N. Pease, PTAP Manager

The third offering in the Division of Economic Development’s BizCast series, the April 28th webinar will feature David Pease, manager of the New Hampshire Procurement Technical Assistance Program. Prior to entering state government service, Pease was a contract Business Advisor throughout south-central New Hampshire. He began his career as an environmental scientist, and became an entrepreneur in 1983 with the founding of Resource Analysts, Inc. (RAI). Pease presided over the growth, success and 1988 acquisition of RAI by Millipore Corporation. He ran RAI as a Millipore subsidiary until 1992, when he arranged its resale to PACE, Incorporated. He later managed several businesses for PACE until 1996, when he left the environmental field to work full-time with small businesses in a private consulting practice. He worked with NH Small Business Development Center clients on a contract basis from 2002-2008.

In this presentation, Pease will discuss contracting and subcontracting opportunities with Department of Defense (DOD), other federal agencies, or state and local governments. He will provide information about online resources for companies to get registered with various federal entities and give an overview of other free services offered by the State’s Procurement team.
As is the case with all NH BizCasts, the free Webcast will be hosted live at the Comfort Inn (71 Hall Street) in Concord and will feature a live audience.

For more information and to attend the NH BizCast, visit http://www.nheconomy.com/bizcast/. Those planning on participating in the live audience at the Comfort Inn are asked to pre-register by contacting Leslie Sherman at (603) 271-2591 or leslie.sherman@dred.state.nh.us.

Berlin Prison Buying Habits Focus of New Research Report

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

The economic impact of the new federal prison in Berlin is the subject of a new research report recently released by the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development’s Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP).

berlin-prisonPTAP, which helps local businesses with government contracting, focused its initial research on construction-related opportunities for jobs and materials. Now that construction is in its final stages, attention has shifted to jobs with the Bureau of Prisons and opportunities for local businesses to sell their goods and services to the prison. The Bureau of Prison’s Purchases of Goods and Services report summarizes the buying history for five federal correctional institutions similar to the new Berlin facility. 

“Not surprisingly, food and medical services are at the top of the list as far as items most in demand at federal correctional institutions,” said PTAP Program Manager David Pease. “While those two categories are most dominant, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other opportunities for New Hampshire companies to conduct business with the new Federal Correctional Institution in Berlin. The report actually contains a comprehensive list of other products in need as well as an itemization of how much is needed and when.”

The report was authored by PTAP Program Specialist and Berlin resident Kathleen Frenette and will be made available to area economic development groups and libraries. It is also available on the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Web site at www.nheconomy.com/sell-to-the-government and on the City of Berlin’s site at www.berlinnh.gov under “News.”

NH-PTAP is a cooperative program of the Defense Logistics Agency (U.S. Department of Defense) and the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development.