FLC | LANL partner wins DOE small business award for its COVID-19 response efforts

LANL partner wins DOE small business award for its COVID-19 response efforts

September 23, 2020

The Department of Energy has recognized a partner of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), with the HUB Zone Small Business of the Year Award in appreciation of the company's COVID-19 response efforts.

Performance Maintenance Inc (PMI) cleaning and disinfection services in Española, New Mexico, has become an essential business performing a critical function.

“This pandemic has put cleaning and disinfecting in the forefront and it seems as if PMI has been preparing for this demand for years,” said Julianna Barbee, Director of the Small Business Development Center at Northern New Mexico College. “Fighting something as deadly as the coronavirus demands quality products, equipment, protective gear and properly trained personnel. I believe PMI is helping everyone maintain a cleaner, safer environment and is truly deserving of this national award.”

PMI won a five-year, $52 million contract with LANL in May of 2019.

“We’ve thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to contract with the laboratory,” PMI co-owner Eric Quintana said. “Since getting this contract, we were able to move from leasing our warehouse to owning it.”

Eric and his wife Celina Quintana established PMI in 1994. The Quintanas and their sons, Daven and Eric Jr., continue to grow and expand their services. It has since grown from a home-based business to an employer of 160 people. PMI also produces its own line of green-certified cleaning products.

“We are applying all of our 26 years’ experience of preventative disinfecting, deep disinfecting and bio-hazard disinfecting, along with using and selling the latest in state of the art equipment and disinfecting chemicals including non-toxic disinfecting solutions,” Eric Quintana said.

PMI services include window washing, carpet cleaning, vent cleaning, electrostatic disinfecting and more. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PMI is busy meeting the needs of its customers, now featuring an online store and nationwide delivery as well as curbside pick up.

“Our business relationship with SBDC Director Julianna Barbee and her staff has been invaluable to our exponential growth factor,” Quintana said. “Our relationship started when it was just my wife and myself as the first employees until present as we celebrate with over 160 employees and many subcontractors. We leaned on Julianna when we didn’t understand a clause in a contact or how to manage through the aches and pains in our fast growing Human Resource Department. She also assisted us with the do’s and don’ts when it comes to government contracting, and assisted us with marketing and the list goes on.”

For more information about PMI, visit www.pmigogreen.com.

Covering 25 categories, the DOE awards are organized by the DOE Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) to recognize people, organizations, and companies who have expanded the use of small business to support the Department’s initiatives. The Small Business Administration's HUBZone program fuels small business growth in historically underutilized business zones.

The DOE ensures the nation’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. The Department supervises 17 national laboratories, including Los Alamos.