Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) is helping small businesses through the Department of Energy (DOE) Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP), more than doubling a protégé firms’ revenue, improving its capabilities, and broadening its customer base. The SRNS MPP improves the subcontracting abilities of small businesses within the DOE complex. Since 2016, the program has grown from one to five protégés managed annually, increasing the overall spend from $400,000 to $41 million. Lisa Tanner, SRNS Supply Chain Small Business Liason Officer, mentioned, “We offer technical and developmental support to protégé’s, equipping them with the necessary knowledge, skills and capabilities to successfully compete for DOE prime contracts. Each company receives mentoring from executive leaders, training in LEAN, and monthly sessions with functional leaders.” CTI was tasked with the deactivation and demolition of the Savannah River Site legacy coal handling facility at the D Area powerhouse. This project included asbestos abatement and removal of the coal feed conveyer. In 2018, SRNS selected CTI and Associates, Inc. (CTI), a small construction and remediation company based in Michigan, to perform field work for Environmental Compliance and Area Completion Projects at the Savannah River Site (SRS). “CTI has grown significantly with SRS expanding our task orders to include more capable jobs and increased opportunity,” said Morgan Subbarayan, President of CTI. “This mentorship has allowed us to grow our production payroll, improve infrastructure, enhance our safety program and completely transform our business and technical capabilities.” In 2020, CTI faced significant challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. Its partnership with SRNS proved to be a turning point, as it expanded CTI’s capabilities and grew the company from 91 to over 200 employees. “The confidence SRNS has instilled into our business has created a work culture that is thriving and constantly evolving,” Subbarayan added. “We have expanded from simple deconstruction to include heavy civil and rad exposure, capturing the attention of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Hanford.” CTI personnel remove contaminated sediment from the R-Reactor Discharge Canal at Savannah River Site. To date, CTI has successfully delivered 20 task orders with $14.7 million of scope ahead of schedule. This past year, CTI successfully completed eight task orders, one involving the remediation of Cs-137 contaminated sediment in the R-Area Reactor Discharge Canal, earning the Lower Three Runs project the DOE Secretary of Energy Achievement Award, as the first fully remediated closure site at SRS. Another was the early completion of the LA-4 well abandonment. Mills knife and pressure grouting were used as an alternative method, leading to significant cost savings for SRS of over $1 million compared to the original over-reaming plan. “The utilization of the Mentor-Protégé Program by SRNS to support and grow small businesses, while accomplishing the demanding management and operations mission, is a shining example at Savannah River Site and across the entire DOE Complex,” said Robert Meek, DOE-Savannah River Small Business Program Manager. In fiscal year 2023, buyers at SRNS awarded $732 million to small businesses –– a 41% increase from the previous fiscal year. Selected protégé companies perform mission critical scope for SRS to include deactivation and demolition, construction, infrastructure services, staffing and information technology. “Our team continues to transform the MPP into an acquisition strategy for functional leaders, allowing companies like CTI to deliver innovative solutions for DOE,” said Jay Johnson, SRNS Deputy Vice President of Contracts and Supply Chain Management. “The MPP Center of Excellence is a unique opportunity for protégés to connect with SRNS leadership and effectively engage with other small businesses outside of their competitive market.” The SRNS MPP will continue to support small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, companies in Historically Underutilized Business Zones, historically Black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions of higher learning. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor and HII partnership company, is responsible for the management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, located near Aiken, South Carolina.