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MBDA Atlanta is hosting the National MBE Manufacturers Summit Aug. 11-13th

July 11, 2019 By Andrew Smith

The Atlanta MBDA Business and Advanced Manufacturing Center, operated by Georgia Tech Research Corporation, is hosting the National MBE Manufacturers Summit 2019 on Aug. 11-13th, 2019 at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center, 84 5th Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30308.  The event provides leading Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) manufacturers the opportunity to assemble, build connections and create new business opportunities.  Over 600 attendees from 28 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and Washington, D.C. have experienced the significant impact of participating in this national gathering of the manufacturing community.

Here are the details:

Event name:  The National MBE Manufacturers Summit 2019 (NMMS 2019) – “Creating the NEXT: Intelligent Manufacturing Reality”

Date:  August 11-13, 2019

Location:  Georgia Tech Global Learning Center, 84 5th Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30308

Please note:  This is not a free event.  There is a fee associated with attending.  Tickets are available here.

The main website with event details and agenda is:  http://mbemanufacturersummit.com/

Filed Under: GTPAC News Tagged With: advanced manufacturing, manuafacturing, manufacturer, manufacturers, MBDA, NMMS

5 things you should know: SBA’s definition of manufacturer

May 11, 2018 By Andrew Smith

SBA’s regulations say that in order to qualify as a small business under a set-aside or sole-source contract seeking manufactured products or supply items, an offeror ordinarily must either be the manufacturer of the end item or qualify under the nonmanufacturer rule.

This post will discuss five things your small business should know about qualifying as a manufacturer under the SBA’s rules; in a future post, I’ll walk through the nonmanufacturer rule.

Let’s get to it: Here are 5 Things You Should Know about the SBA’s definition of manufacturer.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/five-things/5-things-you-should-know-sbas-definition-of-manufacturer/

Filed Under: Contracting Tips Tagged With: manufacturer, manufacturers, manufacturing, non-manufacturer, non-manufacturers rule, SBA, small business

Japanese manufacturer to pay $66 million settlement for supplying defective bullet proof vests

March 21, 2018 By Andrew Smith

Toyobo Co. Ltd. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Toyobo U.S.A. Inc., f/k/a Toyobo America Inc. (collectively, Toyobo), have agreed to pay $66 million to resolve claims under the False Claims Act that they sold defective Zylon fiber used in bullet proof vests that the United States purchased for federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, the Justice Department has announced.

The settlement resolves allegations that between at least 2001 and 2005, Toyobo, the sole manufacturer of Zylon fiber, knew that Zylon degraded quickly in normal heat and humidity, and that this degradation rendered bullet proof vests containing Zylon unfit for use.  It was further alleged that Toyobo nonetheless actively marketed Zylon fiber for bullet proof vests, published misleading degradation data that understated the degradation problem, and when Second Chance Body Armor recalled some of its Zylon-containing vests in late 2003, started a public relations campaign designed to influence other body armor manufacturers to keep selling Zylon-containing vests.

According to the government, Toyobo’s actions delayed by several years efforts to determine the true extent of Zylon degradation.  Finally, in August 2005, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) completed a study of Zylon-containing vests and found that more than 50 percent of used vests could not stop bullets that they had been certified to stop.  Thereafter, the NIJ decertified all Zylon-containing vests.

This settlement is part of a larger investigation undertaken by the Justice Department’s Civil Division of the body armor industry’s use of Zylon in body armor.  The Civil Division previously recovered more than $66 million from 16 entities involved in the manufacture, distribution or sale of Zylon vests, including body armor manufacturers, weavers, international trading companies, and five individuals.  The settlement announced on March 15th brings the Division’s overall recoveries to over $132 million.  The United States still has lawsuits pending against Richard Davis, the former chief executive of Second Chance, and Honeywell International Inc.

The latest settlement resolves allegations filed in two lawsuits, one brought by the United States and the other filed by Aaron Westrick, Ph.D., a law enforcement officer formerly employed by Second Chance who is now a Criminal Justice professor at Lake Superior University.  Dr. Westrick’s lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery.  The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in 2005 in Dr. Westrick’s case.  Dr. Westrick will receive $5,775,000.

This case was handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, along with the General Services Administration, Office of the Inspector General; the Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command; the Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General for Tax Administration; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations; the Department of Energy, Office of the Inspector General; and the Defense Contracting Audit Agency.

The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.  The lawsuits resolved by the settlement are captioned United States ex rel. Westrick v. Second Chance Body Armor, et al., No. 04-0280 (PLF) (D.D.C.) and United States v. Toyobo Co. Ltd., et al., No. 07-1144 (PLF) (D.D.C.).

Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/japanese-fiber-manufacturer-pay-66-million-alleged-false-claims-related-defective-bullet

 

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: abuse, DCAA, DOJ, false claims, False Claims Act, fraud, GSA, Justice Dept., manufacturer, National Institute of Justice, qui tam, Treasury Dept., whistleblower

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