Small Business Administration announces 2024 Pacific Region Prime Contractor of the Year

FRESNO, California – The SBA today announced that Precision Construction Services of San Luis Obispo is the 2024 Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year for the Pacific Region of the United States. Precision was nominated for this prestigious award by Prisco Eric Ravelli of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, and recommended for it by U.S. Congressman Salud Carbajal, who represents California’s 24th District. 

Remarkably, the previous year Precision owners Jared Malapit, Karl Vaillancourt, and Erik Wright were named the SBA’s 2023 California Small Business Persons of the Year, one of the Federal agency’s top overall honors. Prime Contractor of the Year is the SBA’s highest award for Federal procurement. Each year, Federal agencies throughout the U.S. and its territories nominate small businesses whose performance merits consideration for the Prime Contractor Award. 

In the Pacific Region – which encompasses Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, and Nevada – more than 46,000 contractors serve the Federal Government and are potential nominees. In all, the SBA has 10 regions. Nominees are judged on criteria including growth in revenue and employment, Federal contract performance and approach, contributions to the local community, and exceptional results and/or delivery, all of which makes them a valued provider of services or products. The award is part of the SBA’s National Small Business Week program and will be presented on Monday, June 24, at Precision’s San Luis Obispo headquarters. National Small Business Week will be held April 28 to May 4, 2024. 

“Precision’s innovative approach and abiding sense of responsibility are why we award them such essential projects, and why we nominated Precision for this award,” said Mr. Ravelli, Deputy of the Office of Small Business Programs, USACE Los Angeles District. Currently, Precision has five active projects with the district, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, China Lake, Corona, Norco, and Fort Irwin, and has previously completed many others. 

“Precision’s work at Vandenberg, from fast-tracking the design and construction of the West Pad Landing Zone to being the on-site contractor for the Missile Defense Agency, not only contributes to our national defense but strengthens California’s and this region’s goals to become the preeminent commercial space zone in the United States,” Mr. Carbajal said. Precision Construction Services is a commercial and Federal construction firm headquartered in San Luis Obispo and serving clients throughout California and the Western United States. 

A Native American-owned company, Precision was founded in 2013 by Jared Malapit, Erik Wright, and Karl Vaillancourt, three friends and rock-climbing partners who shared a certain frustration with the construction industry, which can be slow to change and adopt new ideas. They left successful careers in construction to form Precision, a progressive company dedicated to advancing the industry and particularly, the culture of construction. 

Recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in America, Precision has built the West Coast’s first rocket landing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base, a 3D printing lab for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the world’s first Hyperloop tunnel, projects throughout Yosemite National Park, including restorations on the historic Ahwahnee hotel, and a 125,000-squarefoot wine facility in Paso Robles. 

“The founders of Precision Construction are a great example of how SBA programs help small business owners start up, scale up, and succeed,” SBA Area Director Nicholas Manalisay said. “Jared, Erik, and Karl’s decision to obtain certification from the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program has given their company a significant competitive advantage in government contracting and helped the firm grow, as evidenced by this impressive award.” 

Precision’s federal clients – including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, General Services Administration (GSA), Bureau of Prisons, National Park Service (NPS), and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) – have helped establish the company as a small business that can compete with, and win contracts against, major global firms. Precision specializes in high-security facilities, including ongoing projects for the Missile Defense Agency at Vandenberg. Precision supplies design-build, general contracting, and construction management services, and in addition to its headquarters on the Central Coast, has California offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Vandenberg Space Force Base, and in Spokane, WA and Kona, HI. 

“We are deeply grateful to the SBA, which has supported Precision from the very beginning, and to the Army Corps of Engineers, which has trusted Precision with projects essential to our national security,” Mr. Malapit said. “We also take great pride in our wonderful, talented team members, who are hard at work on job sites and in the office fulfilling high expectations. They are the reason we are being recognized today.” 

For additional information about all of 2024’s SBA Small Business Award winners, please visit: National Small Business Week awardees | U.S. Small Business Administration (sba.gov). For more information on National Small Business Week, please visit: www.sba.gov/nsbw. For additional information, interviews, and photos of Precision and its projects, please contact: media@precision.services

Small Business Administration