TEXTILES.ORG
By Juliana Wallace
Government agencies don’t always have the best reputation for making life easy, but a free service from the U.S. Department of Commerce is trying to break past those stereotypes to bring together textile companies and NATO.
The Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) is a gratis service for companies interested in working with government agencies under NATO, and OTEXA has a range of other services on offer for textile companies looking for international opportunities in general.
Mary Lynn Landgraf presented in the Innovation Theater at Expo on Wednesday with a very detailed set of instructions on how companies can become certified to be included in the bidding competition for NATO projects.
Landgraf says that last year, there were 68 NATO projects posted on FedBizOpps (FBO), with 511 companies entered into the bidding pool. The surprising fact was that 461 of those entering the bidding were new to the NATO bidding and certification process.
The beauty of the program is that once you are certified and therefore qualified to bid on NATO projects, you will be notified of any bid opportunities that come up that fit your area, giving you the chance to submit a bid and win some government contracts.
The instructions are incredibly detailed (it is still a government program, after all), but Landgraf says the actual process is relatively easy for companies to undertake. In addition, there are opportunities for self-certification that allow companies to be considered for bidding on some smaller government projects.
Landgraf’s presence at Expo (and the general support Expo has received from the U.S. Department of Commerce) showed that there is at least one government agency that can help your business be more efficient and profitable.
Visit the OTEXA website for more information at otexa.ita.doc.gov.