Boeing and Cimarron Share Top NASA Small Business Development Award
The Boeing Company [NYSE:BA] and Cimarron, a Houston-based, woman-owned small business, have received NASA's prestigious 2002 Goldin-Stokes Award.
The award is the agency's highest honor for contractors participating in the mentor-protege program. The program is NASA's premiere technical and business development effort that teams large aerospace prime contractors with emerging high-technology small businesses. Cimarron, an information technology company, is a leading subcontractor on the International Space Station program that is part of NASA Systems, a business unit of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.
"The NASA mentor-protege relationship is a winning combination, any way you look at it," said Russell Carroll, Boeing director of supplier management and procurement. "Collaborations that complement the strengths of both companies are the way to capture emerging business opportunities."
The mentor-protege effort between Cimarron and Boeing began in June 2000. Through Boeing's leadership training curriculum, Cimarron's executives are learning all aspects of running a successful business -- from ethics training, computing security, and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), to assistance with a government-approved procurement system.
Cimarron also obtained its ISO 9001:2000 certification, an internationally recognized standard for quality processes and services. In addition, Boeing is providing Cimarron employees with critical Software Engineering Institute, Capability Maturity Model, level three (SEI-3) compliant software development process training. This training has familiarized Cimarron engineers with the SEI Capability Maturity Model and process elements required to meet this prestigious certification.
Cimarron provides services and products to federal, state and local government agencies and educational agencies, schools and universities. Cimarron has grown from a small firm to a company of more than 400 professionals and $34 million in annual revenues whose expertise is in real-time control center design and implementation. Its contract value with Boeing has increased from a base of $13 million dollars to $28 million dollars to date, an increase of 115 percent over three years.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $23 billion business. It provides systems solutions to its global military, government and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services.
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