IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (July 23, 2007) —The U.S. Department of Energy has recognized Bechtel BWXT Idaho for its efforts to help a small successful business grow.
Through the Department of Energy’s Mentor-Protégé program, Bechtel BWXT Idaho helped North Wind, Inc. develop into a business with 2006 revenues of more than $60 million. The small, minority-woman owned company has grown from bidding strictly on Idaho National Laboratory subcontracts, to a firm that is competing – and winning – important environmental management work at other national labs, federal agencies and commercial businesses.
The Department of Energy’s mentor-protégé program was designed to enhance smaller firm’s capabilities to perform contracts and subcontracts for DOE, other federal agencies and the commercial sector. The program seeks to foster a long-term business relationship between the small business entities and DOE prime contractors and to increase the overall number of these small businesses that receive DOE contract and subcontract awards.
Bechtel BWXT Idaho and North Wind entered into the mentor-protégé arrangement in June 2003. Initially, North Wind was tasked to manage the Idaho National Laboratory’s Chemical Management Program. The program proved so successful that the entire Chemical Management Program and personnel were transferred to North Wind to manage and operate. While North Wind benefited from new project management experience, DOE and Bechtel BWXT Idaho gained a more efficient and cost-effective chemical management program.
Today, Bechtel BWXT Idaho manages and operates the DOE’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project that safely retrieves, characterizes, and ships nuclear waste out of Idaho. Based on the success of the Chemical Management Program, the two companies again collaborated, with North Wind being tasked to manage and operate a program to safely ship large amounts of mixed low-level radioactive waste out of Idaho.
Bechtel BWXT Idaho received the Mentor of the Year award and North Wind received the Protégé of the Year award at the Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2006 Small Business Conference, recently held in Washington DC.
