Washington Times-Herald
CRANE - Anticipating a growing federal contract base in the region, CACI International Inc, a leading professional services and information technology solutions provider to the federal government, has opened an office and laboratory facility in the WestGate @ Crane Technology Park.
CACI employees support the U.S. Department of Defense business through its WestGate and Bloomington facilities. CACI also employs engineers and logistics professionals to serve contract work directly on the 100-square-mile Naval Support Activity base in southern Indiana.
CACI, whose 2008 revenues topped $2.4 billion, currently leases about 4,000 square feet in the WestGate and plans to grow into a larger WestGate facility, according to George Marentic, program manager for CACI's Indiana operations.
"CACI is one of America's top federal IT solutions providers and has been active with Indiana defense groups and related companies for more than 20 years," said Gene Shaw, president of the WestGate @ Crane Authority. "We are excited to see them expand into the WestGate park."
Headquartered in Arlington, Va., CACI employs about 12,500 professionals worldwide.
"The WestGate's prime location makes it ideal to support our customer at NSWC Crane (Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division)," said Marentic. "With the growing diversity of major national defense companies in the WestGate, the park is in a great location for industry teaming that provides NSWC Crane with a superb depth and breadth of professional skills and technical abilities."
Marentic pointed out that many commercial companies serving DoD contracts partner to better serve major defense and Homeland Security contracts. "We see the synergy that WestGate provides as a critical element of our commitment to NSWC Crane," he said. NSWC Crane's expanding reliance on the Seaport-e federal procurement model "creates new opportunities for companies in the WestGate."
CACI Executive Vice President Dan Porter, whose business group oversees CACI's work at Crane, said, "NSWC Crane plays an integral role in America's national defense strategy. CACI is committed to supporting the NSWC Crane community and its overall mission as demonstrated by our involvement in the West Gate technical park."
According to the U.S. Department of the Defense, SeaPort-e is the Navy's electronic platform for acquiring support services in 22 functional areas including engineering, financial management, and program management. The Navy Systems Commands (NAVSEA, NAVAIR, SPAWAR, NAVFAC, and NAVSUP), the Office of Naval Research, the United States Marine Corp, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency compete their service requirements among more than 1,800 SeaPort-e IDIQ multiple award contract holders.
The SeaPort-e portal provides a standardized, efficient means of soliciting offers from amongst the diverse population of large and small businesses and their approved team members.
The Seaport-e model also creates an opportunity for Indiana companies to break into the commercial defense market, according to Ron Arnold, executive director of the WestGate.
"In 2008, small businesses comprised 68 percent of the awards for SeaPort-e," he said.
Since the park's inception, defense and technology companies have created about 275 new jobs at the WestGate @ Crane Technology Park, bringing total WestGate employment to about 500.
The WestGate @ Crane Technology Park represents a natural marketplace for defense contractors currently providing technical support, and research and development services to the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center. EG&G, a subsidiary of the $2 billion URS corporation, and SAIC, the nation's seventh largest defense contractor, in addition to Raydar & Associates, Novonics, ML Enterprises, NAVMAR and STIMULUS Engineering, already maintain operations in the park.