Specialty Fabrics Review September 2019 - 35

FEATURE

by Jeff Moravec

Department of Defense contracts
can be lucrative, but it takes work
to get in-and to stay in.

Printed webbing, binding tape and loop
products shown here are produced by MMI
Textiles. Company president Amy Bircher
says that while the military branches
select suppliers based on price, they also
expect that a high quality product will be
delivered on time. Photo: MMI Textiles Inc.

ny company in the specialty fabrics
industry would be interested in doing
business with a client that has a budget
of more than $700 billion, right?
You'd think so. But big numbers can come
with big challenges, especially when the budget
belongs to a government: in this case, as you
may have guessed, the U.S. Department of
Defense (DoD).
While many specialty fabrics suppliers
and fabricators regularly do business with
the military through the DoD, including some
who count on it for a significant portion of their
income, figuring out where to start-and how
to get in the door with a new product-can
be a tough task. But it is possible.

"It can be daunting to the uninitiated," says Ron Houle,
founder and president of Pivot Step Consultants LLC, a
Burke, Va., firm that helps companies that want to work
with the military. Houle will speak at IFAI Expo on "Making
(Some) Sense of the DoD Budget."
"Just take a cursory look at the defense acquisition
regulations," Houle says. "It's hundreds and hundreds of
pages. Left to your own devices, even with a great product
you want to get into the hands of the military, you'd be hardpressed to know where to start, who to see, where to go and
how to manage your expectations."
There are people like Houle who make a living helping
companies understand the complexities of the process and
assisting them in navigating through it. The U.S. government
also supplies resources to help (see sidebar on page 37).
But Houle and other experts in defense procurement say
prospective military vendors need to pay attention to a few
considerations before investing in research and development
for a new fabric or end product.
www.SpecialtyFabricsReview.com 35



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Specialty Fabrics Review September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Specialty Fabrics Review September 2019

Specialty Fabrics Review September 2019 - Cover1
Specialty Fabrics Review September 2019 - Cover2
Specialty Fabrics Review September 2019 - 1
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