Topsham firm first in midcoast to benefit from expanded HUBZone rules
Courtesy / Northern Pride Communications
Northern Pride Communications, a telecommunications tower-service firm based in Topsham, is the first company in the midcoast region to receive HUBZone certification under newly expanded eligibility standards.
Courtesy / Northern Pride Communications
Topsham-based Northern Pride Communications specializes in working on telecommunications towers. Company President George Crouse says that in 21 years of doing business the company has a perfect worker-injury record, a safety benchmark that he says the company takes great pride in.
Northern Pride Communications Inc., a telecommunications tower-service firm based in Topsham, is the first company in the midcoast region to receive HUBZone certification under newly expanded eligibility standards.
The company, which has 20 employees, received its certification on March 3.
The U.S. Small Business Administration program is for small companies that operate and employ people in Historically Underutilized Business Zones, or HUBZones. Benefits to companies qualifying for the designation include competitive and sole source contracting, expanded subcontracting opportunities and the federal government’s stated goal of awarding 3% of all federal prime contracts to HUBZone certified small businesses.
“We’re confident this will give us a leg up in a tough market to compete in,” Northern Pride Communications President George Crouse told Mainebiz in a phone interview today. “This is definitely going to help us to grow as a company.”
Crouse said he’s already in contact with several government agencies that do business with HUBZone-designated companies.
The certification puts Northern Pride on par with many of its competitors that are already HUBZone certified, he added.
“We could not have succeeded in obtaining this certification without the assistance of U.S. Sen. Angus King’s office,” he said. “The senator’s staff explained the process and kept us informed on their progress.”
Crouse also credited Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority that oversees the redevelopment effort at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, and the other members of Maine’s congressional delegation with lobbying for changes that enable businesses just outside the boundaries of the closed base facilities in Brunswick and Topsham to be eligible.
“Maine SBA helped us by maintaining Northern Pride Communications’ status with SBA and open lines of communications,” he added. “This HUBZone Certification would most likely not have happened as quickly as it did without their expert guidance. The Maine Procurement Technical Assistance Centers were also instrumental in navigating the intricate details of the application.”
Program open to other mid-coast companies
“This new status will give them an advantage as they pursue federal contracts and serve other federal contractors in a greater capacity,” Amy Bassett, Maine district director for the SBA, said in a news release. “We hope many more mid-coast small businesses follow suit and take advantage of this and other SBA programs that were created to help Maine’s small businesses.”
Crouse said his 21-year-old company specializes in telecommunications and federal projects. Clients include all the major cellular phone companies, broadcasters and local, state and federal agencies.
He said with the certification, Northern Pride Communications will have new opportunities to compete for $10 million tower-services solicitations that were set aside as HUBZone opportunities just last year.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments