2018 marks the 20th year anniversary Big Sky Economic Development (BSED) has hosted the Procurement Technical Assistance Program in Montana. Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) provide personal, timely advice on contracting with the government. PTAC is a national program funded in part by Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and local matching funds. BSED holds the cooperative agreement with DLA to provide government contracting assistance to Montana companies. BSED accomplishes this by partnering with six other organizations across the state to deliver assistance in their respective areas. www.montanaptac.org
MT PTAC government contracting advisors specialize in assisting businesses with finding, bidding and winning on government contracts. Assistance includes (but is not limited to), providing technical support on federal and state electronic systems, review of bids and proposals, locating government opportunities, marketing assistance and guidance understanding the requirements found in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). Navigating the government marketplace can be challenging but PTAC is here to support businesses through it. Our goal is to make it clearer, easier and more efficient so businesses can be successful with the government customer. Many businesses report that without the assistance of PTAC, they would have thrown their hands up in frustration knowing it could mean missing out on good business opportunities.
Since 1998, MT PTAC through its seven locations has assisted thousands of companies with pursuing and winning $2,580,535,492 in government contracts along with 92,790 counseling hours, 56,667 counseling sessions, and 924 unique training events with 17,196 attendees. PTAC assists companies across all sectors ranging from small janitorial firms to larger architect/engineering or construction firms. PTAC guidance provides businesses with a path to develop new markets to complement their commercial customer base and contribute to company growth and sustainability. Thriving MT firms benefit their local economies and our state by reinvesting profits, providing employment and paying taxes. MT PTAC at BSED has been around for 20 years helping businesses through many phases of their government contracting journey.
Businesses such as Hard Drives Asphalt, Inc, a Billings construction firm, first sought out the assistance of the PTAC in 1998. Just over the last ten years, the company has been successful in winning over $33 million in federal awards. Neptune Aviation, Inc. a Missoula firm first assisted by the Billings PTAC in 2003 has been awarded over $419 million in federal government awards over the same period. The economic impact of firms that participate in government contracting is significant.
Big Sky Economic Development and its MT PTAC partners are looking forward to assisting many more businesses across our great state in the future!