Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Six firms received Small Business Awards from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on Friday morning at an awards ceremony held both in-person and virtually.

“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 companies, selected from small business service providers to the lab, were recognized by ORNL’s Small Business Programs Office for their specific capabilities and contributions. This year’s ORNL Small Business Awards honorees were:

• Women-Owned Small Business of the Year: Absolute Access, a women-owned small business located in Knoxville, was 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.
• 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., 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, 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 percent on-time delivery rate, exceeding its goal of 95 percent.
• Women-Owned Small Business of the Year: Red Wire Technologies, 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.

In addition, Landon Hunley, an ORNL procurement officer, also received the ORNL Small Business Advocate of the Year Award.

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