BY MAUREEN N. MARATITA
Journal Staff

Torres

Some famous contracting names were represented at the NMI Industry Day, and many of them on the second day presented attendees with an overview of their companies and joint ventures and then took time to network one-on-one with interested small businesses.

Prime contractors and teams represented included Aptim Construction JV LLC, Black Construction-Tutor Perini JV, Core Tech- Hawaiian Dredging-Kajima LLC JV, Contact Watts Inc.-Weitz JV, Gilbane SMCC ECC LLC JV, Granite Construction, Jacobs and Hensel Phelps-Shimizu JV.

Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres said at a press conference on March 26, “I’m very pleased we had interest from Japan, Australia, the U.S. and all of our neighboring regions.” The event was a sign of the NMI’s partnerships with the U.S. Department of Defense, he said. “We will be addressing our concerns along the way — opportunities for our locals and cultural concerns.”

The prime companies gave an overview of their companies and capabilities, work in the region and also shared comments designed to help potential small business sub-contractors, as well as areas of need for small business participation, and welcomed contact from small businesses.

Ellen Mack, small business liaison officer for Aptim Construction told attendees, “We have about 70 contracts where we have small business goals.”  She can be reached at
[email protected], she told the Journal.

Mamczarz

Mark J, Mamczarz, vice president of finance, secretary and treasurer at Black Construction Corp. said small businesses should send his group a statement of capabilities. “That statement of capability is very important to us. It allows us to reach out to you.” Companies should not overstate their abilities, and Black would like to see a “best number” immediately in negotiations, he said. “Our goal is to make you successful. Your success makes us successful,” Mamczarz said. Small businesses should contact Desmond Mandell at Black, he said.

Lloreta M. Cruz, regional program manager for Contrack Watts Inc. told the Journal, “It is the policy of Contrack Watts, Inc. company-wide, to afford every practicable opportunity for small business concerns, consistent with good business practices, to participate in contracts awarded to CWI by the federal government and other public agencies.”

Margie Namba, client services manager for Granite Construction, emphasized Granite’s Core value, which include safety and said that environmental stewardship is extremely important to Granite.

Roland S. Moreau, vice president for business development at ECC, said on March 24, “Small businesses are really important to us.”

Other companies and organizations that attended or had representatives during the two-day event included TakeCare Insurance, Marianas Geotech Services, Matson Navigation Co., Latte Marine Diving & Salvage, Hong Ye Construction, Tinian Services Inc., Koa Consulting, AB Risk Micronesia, Cings Enterprise, Agana Bay Consulting, exp., Parsons, and the Guam Contractors Association.

Similar industry events to the NMI Industry Day were held in Guam through the years. The Guam Chapter of the American Society of Military Engineers hosted the Guam Industry Forum in 2018 at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort. Before that, forums were held in April 2009, March 2008 and August 2007, according to Journal files.

More than 1,300 company representatives attended the 2008 forum, with around 700 from outside of Guam; in 2018 500-plus individuals attended. Forums were typically two-day events in Guam. The U.S. Department of the Interior also hosted Island Business Opportunities conferences in Guam and Hawaii during the same timeframe.    

Upcoming events of interest to contractors include the 2021 Pacific Defense Contracting Summit from Oct. 19 to 21, to be held in Honolulu at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.

According to organizers, “The focus of this three-day summit includes the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Japan, the Koreas, and China/Taiwan/South China Sea.” The conference offers the latest information on the fiscal 2022 defense budget for U.S. defenses in the Indo-Pacific region and U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, Space Defense, and U.S. Army mission requirements and contracting priorities in the Indo-Pacific region, according to organizers. The invite to attend highlighted a recent report from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which … calls for $27 billion in additional spending between 2022 and 2027, with $4.8 billion in fiscal specifically to support the Pacific Deterrence Initiative.

Attendance runs from $395 for virtual attendance to $695 and $995 for in-person attendance, plus additional costs to attend the VIP reception ($200) and exhibitor costs from $595 for a virtual packet to $3,000 and $3,600 for in-person exhibitors. Active-duty military and government officials will not pay to attend. mbj