Biotech Company Looks to Create
Opportunities for Small-Business Subcontractors

Sigma-Aldrich — St. Louis, MO

Why is a large biotech business like Sigma-Aldrich, with 6,000 employees worldwide and $1.2 billion in annual sales, seeking help and advice on the small-business front?

Simple: it wants to build business and beef up relationships with potential small-business subcontractors, according to Rich Fyke, director with the Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Center's (MO PTAC) east region office in St. Louis.

Fyke and MO PTAC are helping the firm — a leading life-science and high-tech company specializing in biochemical and organic chemical products and kits used in scientific research by life-science companies, universities, hospitals, pharmaceutical developers and government institutions — achieve its goal.

"During fiscal year 2004, utilizing MO PTAC assistance, Sigma-Aldrich obtained numerous government contracts totaling more than $5.6 million from such federal departments as Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Energy," Fyke said. "Our services provided the necessary expertise for the continued advancement of their government contracting programs."

Sigma-Aldrich, in turn, is converting these federal contracts into subcontracting opportunities with small businesses related to the respective work the 55-year-old St. Louis-based firm is pursuing.

"Sigma-Aldrich was looking to better understand small business subcontracting requirements for company programs pertaining to government contracts," explained Jim Wickenhauser, government new business development manager and small-business liaison officer with Sigma-Aldrich. "The company wanted to verify its programs met contract requirements and assured small business outreach to the community."

Wickenhauser initiated contact with MO PTAC a couple of years ago to discuss his company's goals in relation to government contracts that encouraged the establishment of formal subcontracting ties between prime contractors and small-business suppliers. That initial query eventually blossomed into the contracting successes of the past year.

"MO PTAC worked with Sigma-Aldrich on the research to understand all federal acquisition regulations pertinent to their small business programs and the interpretation and implementation of acquisition requirements," Wickenhauser said.

"Further, MO PTAC assistance involved identification of potential subcontractors and suppliers, updates on small-business conferences and seminars and help in the tracking of government contract through the use of automated bid-matching services."

Ultimately, the multi-million-dollar government contracting business Sigma-Aldrich achieved attests to the value of Fyke's expert advice and to the validity of the firm's intentions for its small-business suppliers.

And because of the achievement, Sigma-Aldrich will represent MO PTAC at the first Client Showcase and Legislative Breakfast Thursday, Feb. 10, in the State Capitol Rotunda in Jefferson City.

At that event — hosted by MO PTAC's Columbia-based affiliate the Missouri Small Business Development Centers (MO SBDC) at the University of Missouri — Sigma-Aldrich and 24 other outstanding Missouri companies will meet with legislators to discuss their products and services. They also will be recognized for their contributions to the economic development of the state of Missouri. Recognition from MO SBDC and MO PTAC will be accompanied by legislative resolutions presented by each company's district state senator and state representative.

For more information on the services of the MO PTAC program, call Fyke at 314/621-7280 or e-mail him at fyker@missouri.edu.

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