TAMPA BAY, Fla., USA: Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, announces that it has formed a Small Business Administration (SBA) Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture with Marstel-Day LLC, an award-winning woman-owned small business (WOSB), HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone) entity and premier environmental and natural resource planning firm. The formal relationship will provide expanded business opportunities for both firms and enhance the range of engineering, environmental and land use services they can offer to the U.S. government. The joint venture can be utilized for small business and HUBZone set-aside opportunities as well as for unrestricted opportunities and programs.

Under the multi-year arrangement, the joint venture will compete for contract awards and other business opportunities with federal agencies, while Atkins will help Marstel-Day expand its footprint in federal government work with technical and material assistance. The joint venture team has been established to provide maximum flexibility across multiple SBA program platforms.

“This partnership capitalizes on the unique strengths of both firms, which will allow us to offer a comprehensive and holistic range of solutions for our federal clients, including the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Interior, Department of Energy and others,” said J.R. Steele, Federal Business Unit Director, Atkins.

“The Atkins-Marstel-Day joint venture creates new strength for both companies. The potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the effects of climate change for federal assets, whether military bases or national parks, creates a need for environmental and facility management expertise that Atkins and Marstel-Day are uniquely capable of providing,” said Rebecca Rubin, President and CEO of Marstel-Day.

The SBA’s mentor-protégé program encourages large businesses to provide mutually beneficial developmental assistance to qualified small businesses. Before forming the mentor-protégé agreement, Atkins and Marstel-Day had worked together, assisting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Mobile District with performing facility condition assessments using the Corps’ BUILDER SMS application.

Listen to the Built + Beyond podcast for an in-depth discussion about the impacts of COVID-19 on the AEC industry featuring Rebecca Rubin and J.R. Steele.