HUBZone Certification
ProSidian Consulting is a proud HUBZone Certified Company. We align with the Federal Governments SBA HUBZone Program Mission to promote job growth, capital investment, and economic development to historically underutilized business zones, referred to as HUBZones. We participate in the HUBZone Program through on-going operations and by establishing employment and contracting activities in economically distressed communities.
Why Does The HUB Certification Matter?
The HUBZone Program was created in response to the HUBZone Empowerment Act created by the US Congress in 1998. The HUBZone Certification is a United States Small Business Administration (SBA) Program for businesses in urban and rural communities that operate and employ people in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) based on the establishment of Title 13 Part 126 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
The Federal Government’s goal is to award a Percentage of all federal contracting dollars to HUBZone-certified small businesses each year. Participants with HUBZone Certifications have the opportunity to receive competitive and sole source contracts with the Federal Government. The HUBZone Program encourages economic development in Historically Underutilized Business Zones through the establishment of preferences facilitating access to federal contracting opportunities. Certified small businesses in impoverished areas utilize the competitive and sole source contracting and price evaluation preferences of the HUBZone Program to create jobs and increase capital investments in distressed local economies throughout America.
ProSidian Consulting became a certified participant in the HUBZone Program through the acquisition of a physical facility and on-going operations in the Loray Mill Village Gastonia, North Carolina HUBZone. The Loray Mill National Register Historic District (one of the largest of its kind in the country) is located just twenty miles from downtown Charlotte in the City Of Gastonia. Gastonia is the largest city and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is also the second largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord.
History Of The Loray Mill Village Gastonia, North Carolina HUBZone
The Loray Mill was once located in the south-western piedmont of North Carolina, Gaston County which had the ideal resources for manufacturing. The Loray, also known as Firestone Mill, once had more than 3,500 employees. Because of the large potential workforce of former sharecroppers and failed farmers, many northern industrialists moved south in search of a reduced cost of labor. Built 1902 by John Love and George Gray, they contracted their names to Loray, and the mill said to be the largest single-roof textile mill in the South, went on to become a part of history.
World War I brought great prosperity to the southern cotton mills, fueled largely by government defense orders for uniforms, tents, and war material. Thousands of new jobs opened in the mills, and wages soared to all-time highs. This boom was to be short-lived, however, and the prosperity that the workers enjoyed soon disappeared. The Communist Textile Workers Union led a strike in 1929 that laid siege to the town and resulted in the death of Gastonia Police Chief Orville Aderholt and worker’s rights champion Ella May Wiggins.
As public sentiment turned against the union and the Great Depression forced the company operating the mill into bankruptcy, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company stepped in and for the next 60 years produced woven tire cord for an exploding automobile industry. The village has languished for years, especially since the mill’s closure in the 1990’s. The doors closed a final time in 1993 when Firestone built a new plant in Kings Mountain.
The Loray Mill strike of 1929 in Gastonia, North Carolina, was one of the most notable strikes in the labor history of the United States. Though largely unsuccessful in attaining its goals of better working conditions and wages, the strike was considered very successful in a lasting way; it caused an immense controversy which gave the labor movement momentum, propelling the movement in its national development.
Why ProSidian Participates In The HUBZone Program
Corporate social responsibility is an integral part of our firm and is reflected in ProSidian’s vision, mission, and values. We are committed to providing the highest level of service and upholding our values and ethical standards in all firm activities. We put the interests of our employees, clients, communities, and the environment at the forefront of ProSidian’s strategies and goals. Our mission is to provide a “Structured Approach To Strategic Solutions” that help forward-thinking clients solve problems and improve operations.
We tailor solutions for services that align with client stakeholder needs and objectives while maintaining a commitment to practices that recognize the central role that business plays in society. This is our way of giving back to the wonderful Vance Street Community of The Loray Mill Village in Gastonia North Carolina. Although the mills are mostly gone, Gastonia is still a place imbued with faith, family, and loving, hardworking people. It’s a place with limitless potential, and we are confident it is poised for a prosperous future. It’s great to be contributing to this special town!
Our Blueprint For Success In The HUBZone Program
ProSidian Consulting (ProSidian) is a GSA MOBIS Contract #: GS-10F-0309Y holder (Period Covered by Contract: May 18, 2012 – May 17, 2020), an MBE, 8(a) Certified Professional Services Firm and SDB Entity with a HUB Zone Certification (Pending) and DD Form 254 DSS Secret (Interim Top Secret) Facility Clearance FCL. As of June 2018, there were the Approx. Two Percent (~2%) of eligible Government Contracting Establishments (companies) who have a DSS Secret (Interim Top Secret -TS) Facility Clearance FCL. We qualify as a small business in most NAICS Codes and have a highly referenceable on-demand business model with Fed Gov. Engagements as a PRIME Contractor. We are also a Navy SeaPort-e Enhanced Prime Contract holder (N00178-15-D-8378).
As part of our “Blueprints For Success” in the national HUBZone Program, ProSidian will pursue opportunities with Private Companies, Fortune 1,000 Enterprises, and Government Agencies of all sizes such as Federal Agencies such as the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, General Services Administration, U.S. Dept. Of Homeland Security, U.S. Dept. of Interior, Office of Personnel Management, Small business Administration, U.S. Dept. Of Transportation, U.S. Dept. Of Treasury, etc.
Joining the HUBZone Program makes ProSidian Consulting eligible to compete for the program’s set-aside contracts. HUBZone-certified businesses also get a 10 Percent price evaluation preference in full and open contract competitions. HUBZone-certified businesses can still compete for contract awards under other qualifying Federal, State, and Local Government socioeconomic programs. ProSidian will continue to invest in the development and viability of The Vance Street Community of The Loray Mill Village in Gastonia North Carolina and play a key role in Gaston County’s growing small business community.