Vetrepreneur Steven A. Smits has always understood the importance of having a purpose, goals and dreams. Thanks in part to that mindset, his company, Patriot Taxiway Industries, Inc., which provides design, manufacturing, and delivery of quality LED products, hit the ground running. Just 20 months into its existence, the company secured a $7.7 million contract with the U.S. Air Force.
After landing a contract of this magnitude, the part-owners had every right to tout the accomplishments of the young company. Smits, however, attributed this success to one thing primarily: veterans.
More than 70 percent of the fulltime Patriot Taxiway team members on this contract were vets, including three service-disabled veterans. This, Smits said, was not by chance.
“We actively recruit and hire veterans,” he said. “Their experience, dedication and commitment to a quality product is what helped this company deliver on a $7.7 million contract, on time.”
And deliver they did… literally. According to Smits, Patriot Taxiway manufactured and transported 2,000 Dual Mode Portable STAND GUARD© LED lighting systems to 28 Air Force bases worldwide.
The systems, which provide remotely controlled visible and infrared lighting, allow control of perimeter lighting while avoiding exposure to potential enemy fire. The big picture mission is to keep U.S. soldiers safe – and Patriot Taxiway Vice President Kevin McDermott is pleased to be a part of it.
“Patriot takes great pride in equipping our war fighters for the mission,” McDermott said. “We understand it’s the mission first, and we are lighting the way for our warriors taking the risks on the front line.”
With great challenges come great rewards
Smits, who is the president of Patriot Taxiway, served in the Air Force and the Air Force National Guard, where he is still enlisted today. The idea for the business came after he learned that a service-disabled, veteran-owned business qualified for certain government contracts.
Like any other business owner though, there were several challenges to overcome, most notably financing.
“Financing and finding the first contract (were challenges initially),” he said. “(I wondered) how long it would take to win our first contract and how to fund the company in the meantime.”
What got the company on solid ground were good business practices and a dedicated, hard-working team. Knowing when to ask for help went a long way as well.
Smits stressed the importance of making a smart business plan that you believe in and not being afraid to “seek advice from other small business veterans who have succeeded.”
Let there be light
McDermott said that the success of Patriot Taxiway is replicable, as long as other vetrepreneurs are willing to put in the work and seek outside resources.
Among the list of contacts the company made in that first year included the Air Force Small Business office, Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business office, National Veterans Business show and more. At the National Veterans Business Show, Smits and McDermott met Ed Buessnik, director of small business for the Scott Air Force Base (AFB).
A week after the show, Buessnik called to inform Patriot Taxiway that the Scott AFB had put out a request for information (RFI) for the lighting contract. The lesson, McDermott said, is to get educated, know your company, and recognize potential opportunities.
“Educate yourself with all of the resources,” he said. “Go to SCORE classes, find and go to your Business Procurement Assistance Center (BPAC) or Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), know your product and or service better than anyone else, and know what makes you different from your competitors. Take that knowledge and use the resources available, such as FedBizOpps.gov, to identify if there is a market in the government. Go after that market with professionalism and fervor.”
Sidebars
To learn more about contracting opportunities with Air Mobility Command visit www.navoba.com/amccontracting. Here you can download a forecast of what AMC plans to purchase and a step-by-step guide on how the contracting process works.
Company Information
Name: Patriot Taxiway Industries
Headquarters: Lomira, WI
Additional sites/facilities: Washington, D.C.
Company Web site: www.patriottaxiway.com
Number of employees: 15
Number of veteran employees (if available): 7
Year founded: 2007
2008 revenues: $7.7 Million
Vetrepreneur
Name: Steven A. Smits
Branch of service: US Air Force 1979-1984, Air National Guard 1984-present
Highest rank attained: Senior Master Sergeant (E-8)
Education: Associate Degree in Aircraft Electronics, FCC Licenses with Radio Endorsement. Blackhawk Technical College, Janesville, WI 1985
Fun Facts
What is your favorite TV show? MASH, That 70'S Show, and The Simpsons
What is your favorite sports team? Green Bay Packers
What’s in your refrigerator? Venison sausage and cheese
What is your dream car? BMW 525 or 65 Corvette
What do you do to relax? Boating in the summer, snowmobiling in the winter
What would you be doing if you weren’t a business owner? Working in a production plant
NAVOBA Connection
When did you first join NaVOBA? May 2009
How has your experience with NAVOBA helped you?
When we started organizing Patriot Taxiway, a copy of Vetrepreneur magazine was at the SCORE office. In the back of the magazine was a toolbox checklist we used to help us start; things such as getting on the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database, being assigned a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) cage code number, etc. We still have that magazine and we have checked off most of the list.