More than 300 business owners and managers turned the Mancini Room at the Toms River library into a standing-room-only venue when the Ocean County Board of Freeholders hosted a “doing business with the military” workshop.
Attendees at the Oct. 16 workshop heard from nearly a dozen professionals from Navy Lakehurst and McGuire Air Force Base on the finer points of bidding on and winning military contracts.
“With Navy Lakehurst alone awarding nearly a billion dollars a year in contracts, I felt it was important for the county to host this forum,” Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said. “The military can be an important client for many of our businesses, and we want to make sure our businessmen and businesswomen can compete for these contracts on an even playing field with other out-of-county companies.”
Among the types of companies the base regularly does business with are plumbers, electricians, heating and air conditioning installation and service, construction companies, auto parts dealers and auto mechanics, catering services and restaurants, copier and printing services, office cleaning and janitorial services, furniture dealers, snow plowing companies, private lumber companies and water delivery services.
Vicari said the owners of some smaller businesses might be hesitant to bid on federal government contracts because of the bureaucracy and strict regulations involved.
“This workshop helped to cut through some of that red tape and help our small businesses take that important first step in dealing with the military,” Vicari said. “I want to personally thank all of the speakers for taking the time out to attend this important forum.”
Attendees also heard from Emil Kaunitz, whose company, Specialty Systems Inc., of Toms River, consistently wins military contracts.
Kaunitz encouraged the business owners to not only bid on contracts, but to go the extra mile and build a professional relationship with the base leaders.
Fourth District Congressman Chris Smith also addressed the guests and talked about the upcoming partnership between central New Jersey’s three major military bases. Navy Lakehurst, McGuire Air Force Base and Fort Dix will be combined into a larger joint base that could offer even greater economic opportunities for local businesses, according to a press release from the county.
Smith and 3rd District Congressman Jim Saxton recently announced that the U.S. Department of Defense plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the new joint base over the next few years.