Small business contracts way up at Wright-Patterson AFB

DAYTON, Ohio (Tribune News Service) — Air Force Materiel Command had a surge in spending on small business contracts, rising nearly 30 percent in the Dayton area and 33 percent in Ohio since 2013, figures released to the Dayton Daily News show.

The Wright-Patterson-headquartered command has spent nearly a billion dollars more —- jumping to $4.6 billion in fiscal 2015 from $3.6 billion in 2013 with small businesses nationally, buttressing local defense spending even while Pentagon budget cuts have reduced the number of military troops and weapons over time. AFMC also spent more on small business as a percentage of its budget, rising to 14.1 percent versus 10.8 percent over the same time.

The “significant increase” in contracts shows “there is a very large small business market out there,” said Farris Welsh, director of AFMC’s small business office.

“I believe that we can get a bit more flexibility with small business,” she said. “Most small businesses are not quite as bureaucratic as large businesses and the government. And we get really good rates.

Continue reading at http://www.stripes.com/small-business-contracts-way-up-at-wright-patterson-afb-1.376480.