Five small businesses and one ORNL staff member received Small Business Awards from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The recipients were recognized during the ORNL Small Business of the Year Awards, held Tuesday, May 19, at the ORNL Conference Center.
Hosted by ORNL's Small Business Programs Office in the Contracts Division, the annual awards celebrate the capabilities and contributions of small business subcontractors, as well as one internal advocate, who supported the lab's mission during fiscal year 2025.
"Small businesses are vital partners in delivering ORNL's mission, bringing specialized expertise that help our teams succeed," said Ann Weaver, deputy for operations at ORNL. "We're proud to recognize this year's award winners and their impactful contributions to U.S. science and innovation."
Winners were nominated by ORNL staff for their outstanding performance across several areas of the lab, including engineering, fabrication, staffing and laboratory equipment and supplies.
This year's ORNL Small Business Awards honorees included:
- Small Business of the Year: Alloy Fabrication, a small business located in Clinton, Tenn. was recognized for providing versatility and technical expertise in aluminum welding in support of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR).
- Women-Owned Small Business of the Year: Manhattan Legacy Service, a women-owned small business headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tenn., was recognized for providing outstanding staffing support for the BRIAR Biometrics Project .
- Small Disadvantaged Business of the Year: HOLMANS USA, a small disadvantaged business headquartered in Albuquerque, NM, was recognized for providing critical high performance computing components, enabling quick efficient procurements that helped expand opportunities for small business participation in high-performance computing procurements.
- Small Business of the Year: Lyme Technology Solutions, a small business located in Lebanon, NH, was recognized for quick response times and proactive support that set them apart as a customer-focused catalog supplier.
- Women-Owned Small Business of the Year: Schmiede Corporation, a women-owned small business headquartered in Tullahoma, was recognized for quality machining and fabrication work in support or the HFIR Beryllium Reflector Replacement (HBRR) project.
- Small Business Advocate of the Year: Taurus Hinton, an ORNL procurement officer, was recognized for his commitment to small business engagement, demonstrated through his participation in small business outreach events and willingness to take on additional small business responsibilities.
The Small Business Programs Office helps ORNL meet federal small business subcontracting goals and promotes partnerships with small, diverse, and local suppliers that support the lab's science and operations. The office also offers training and tools to help staff connect with qualified small businesses across a range of needs.
ORNL's procurement operations are led by Tim Cannella, director of contracts. Cassandra McGee Stuart is manager of small business and supplier enablement.
For more information, visit the Small Business Programs Office at smallbusiness.ornl.gov .
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE's Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science .
