Parr Industries

Parr Industries II, Inc. is located in Pulaski, TN and provides environmental waste services to numerous industries across the contiguous states. Parr was founded in 2011 and is a 100% Woman-Owned business. The founders, Shannon Downs and Maria Parr have extensive backgrounds in environmental recycling and business development. Shannon is a CPA by training and Maria is a Bioengineer holding two Master’s Degrees from Virginia Tech University.

THE CHALLENGE

With the launch of their new environmental company the pair sought out the services provided by PTAC in order to grow the amount and breadth of their contracts. Parr also found that the amount of paperwork and attention to detail was a big deterrent to successful submission of requirements for certifications.

MEP's ROLE

Working with Debbie Barber they were able to complete their online registrations and certifications in early May of 2012. Once registered and listed in the system, PTAC provided a constant stream of opportunities. With a national footprint for service delivery the company was able to look at ten or more opportunities per day. Overall, in the first full year, May 2012-April 2013, the company won over 60% of the bids submitted.

During this period Parr Industries was encouraged by Ms. Barber to file for Woman Owned Business certification to complement its small business status. Even with Ms. Barber leaving PTAC she continued to assist the company and it received its WBENC certification in Oct 2013.

The account continued to be engaged by PTAC representative, Russell Toone, and has led to even greater emphasis on a variety of certifications that were available to Parr. Applications have been made to the SBA and to various state certifications. These certifications have been very helpful in achieving greater penetration into companies that desire to increase their minority participation.

RESULTS

The largest single component is a recent win of a five year contract valued at well over $1 million dollars and in a short amount of time the PTAC program has been instrumental in more than doubling the revenues of the company and significantly increasing the number of employees. This has been a key element in government contracts now accounting for over 10% of annual revenues and minority certifications contributing an additional 25% of annual revenues. These totals are from zero, less than two years prior. With PTAC’s help from Deb Barber and Russell Toone , Parr Industries II, Inc. has weathered the storm of learning how governments do business. They have learned the precise nature of bidding and the future is extremely promising as it grows its business in two new directions.