Immediate Release: June 30, 2006
Contact: Kathryn Reed, 919-807-6975,
reedk@nccommunitycolleges.edu
Fayetteville Tech Brings Military Business to North
Carolina
By Kathryn Reed, Summer Intern
North Carolina Community
College System Office, Public Affairs
RALEIGH: In 2005, North Carolina businesses earned $740
million more from the Department of Defense (DOD) than they did in
2004. This notable increase was due in no small part to the creation
of the North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC), the first
and only one of its kind in the nation, under the supervision of
Fayetteville Technical Community College.
Established by a grant from the North Carolina General Assembly in
2004, the NCMBC works to utilize the state’s considerable military
presence to promote economic development by linking military demand
with state supply. The center’s aims include increasing military
business for in-state companies, integrating military personnel and
their families into the North Carolina workforce and supporting the
development in the state of defense-related business.
The center has satellite locations at Craven Community College,
Coastal Carolina Community College and Wayne Community College that
target opportunities at local military bases, and it operates
regional development centers at Catawba Valley Community College,
Guilford Technical Community College, Durham Technical Community
College and Sandhills Community College to help local companies
compete for nationwide government business opportunities. The NCMBC
also utilizes the Small Business Centers of community colleges
across the state to link with companies.
“It’s great to be part of the community college system. It gives us
immediate legitimacy,” said Scott Dorney, executive director of
NCMBC. “They give us an immediate connection to the business
community. Our real partners are the Small Business Centers.”
With five military bases and more than 107,000 military personnel,
North Carolina boasts the fourth largest military presence in the
country. At the time of the creation of the NCMBC, however, the
state ranked only 23rd for amount of money spent by the DOD on
procurement from in-state companies with less than one percent of
the department’s $230 billion procurement budget going to North
Carolina businesses.
Since that time the center’s efforts have connected more than 50,000
North Carolina businesses to about 1,500 federal business
opportunities and have helped businesses win about 70 contract
awards for more than $45,000,000 -- raising the amount of money
earned by North Carolina businesses from the DOD by 33 percent.
The state did slip to 25th in the DOD procurement ranking because
Mississippi moved ahead, but Dorney said the shift represents
potential.
“It demonstrates that with effort it is possible to move up,” he
said. “Our goal is to be in the top ten.”
Dorney cited military construction as well as contracting and
subcontracting opportunities as future areas of focus for the NCMBC.
He said the center will study the results of an independent analysis
to anticipate the future needs of DOD.
“We’re not just focused on ‘The government wants to buy X today. Who
makes it?’” he said. “The other 20 percent is positioning North
Carolina firms to meet future DOD demand.”
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