The Boeing Company [NYSE:BA] and Cimarron, a
Houston-based, woman-owned small business, have received NASA’s prestigious
2002 Goldin-Stokes Award.
The award is the agency’s highest honor for contractors participating in the
mentor-protégé program. The program is NASA’s premiere technical and
business development effort that teams large aerospace prime contractors
with emerging high-technology small businesses. Cimarron, an information
technology company, is a leading subcontractor on the International Space
Station program that is part of NASA Systems, a business unit of Boeing
Integrated Defense Systems.
“The NASA mentor-protégé relationship is a winning combination, any way you
look at it,” said Russell Carroll, Boeing director of supplier management
and procurement. “Collaborations that complement the strengths of both
companies are the way to capture emerging business opportunities.”
The mentor-protégé effort between Cimarron and Boeing began in June 2000.
Through Boeing’s leadership training curriculum, Cimarron’s executives are
learning all aspects of running a successful business – from ethics
training, computing security, and International Traffic in Arms Regulations
(ITAR), to assistance with a government-approved procurement system.
Cimarron also obtained its ISO 9001:2000 certification, an internationally
recognized standard for quality processes and services. In addition, Boeing
is providing Cimarron employees with critical Software Engineering
Institute, Capability Maturity Model, level three (SEI-3) compliant software
development process training. This training has familiarized Cimarron
engineers with the SEI Capability Maturity Model and process elements
required to meet this prestigious certification.
Cimarron provides services and products to federal, state and local
government agencies and educational agencies, schools and universities.
Cimarron has grown from a small firm to a company of more than 400
professionals and $34 million in annual revenues whose expertise is in
real-time control center design and implementation. Its contract value with
Boeing has increased from a base of $13 million dollars to $28 million
dollars to date, an increase of 115 percent over three years.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, is one of
the world’s largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St.
Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $23 billion business. It
provides systems solutions to its global military, government and commercial
customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance; the world’s largest military aircraft manufacturer; the
world’s largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based
communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense;
NASA’s largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services.
