Six East Tennessee small businesses receive awards from Oak Ridge National Laboratory

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WATE) — Six small businesses from East Tennessee, as well as one individual, were recognized with awards on Friday by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

According to ORNL, there was an awards ceremony held at ORNL and virtually Friday morning. The companies were selected from the small business service providers to the lab and were honored by ORNL’s Small Business Programs Office for their specific capabilities and contributions.

“We are fortunate to have an invaluable network of small businesses that support ORNL’s mission,” ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer said. “It is a privilege to recognize these companies and highlight their impact to the laboratory and their contributions to the nation’s scientific and technological advancements.”

The awards given out were to:

• Women-Owned Small Business of the Year – Absolute Access, a women-owned small business located in Knoxville as recognized for the company’s outstanding customer service in access control and badging products. Members of ORNL’s staff said the company routinely goes above and beyond to provide fast service, deliver shipments, intercept supply issues, and mitigate potential delays.
• Women-Owned Small Business of the Year – Red Wire Technologies, or RWT, a women-owned small custom engineering company located in Knoxville was recognized for support of ORNL’s national security efforts through innovative contributions to wireless communication technology. The company’s work increased resilient communications capabilities through software enhancements, including migrating bulky, heavy, and barely portable off-the-shelf hardware to small, compact, and power-efficient devices. 
• Small Business of the Year – ARMEC, a small manufacturing engineering business located in Oak Ridge was recognized for outstanding performance on the US ITER project. Members of ORNL’s technical staff said the company has repeatedly demonstrated capability in precision manufacturing, proactively managing their project deliverables and schedules while meeting very tight tolerances and complex designs on state-of-the-art first-of-a-kind components. 
• HUBZone Small Business of the Year – City-State, a HUBZone small business located in Knoxville was recognized for exceptional environmental, waste, and transportation services during the FY23 phase of the Legacy Materials Disposition Effort, or LMDE. 
• Small Disadvantaged Business of the Year – Scientific Sales, Inc., or SSI, a small disadvantaged, women-owned business located in Oak Ridge was recognized for extraordinary customer service and significant value as a provider of lab supplies, chemicals, and instruments used regularly by multiple departments and laboratories throughout the ORNL complex. The company’s commitment to cost savings, customer service, and competitive pricing saved ORNL more than $787,000.
• Small Business of the Year – Stokes Electric Company, or Stokes, a small business located in Knoxville was recognized for superior customer service, clear communication, and high satisfaction marks as an electrical product supplier for ORNL’s vendor catalog. The company achieved a 98% on-time delivery rate, exceeding its goal of 95% by three points.

Procurement Officer Landon Hunley was also recognized with the ORNL Small Business Advocate of the Year Award. ORNL said he was recognized for his consistent support for small businesses in his procurement activities, including setting aside eight new construction opportunities that resulted in $11 million in new construction awards to small businesses in the 2023 fiscal year.

To learn more about the awards, visit ORNL’s website.