CEI Press Releases
2011 DoD Nunn-Perry Award
2011 SBA Tibbetts Award
Colorado Engineering Wins Prestigious Nunn-Perry Award
Award honors outstanding small businesses that stimulate economic growth
03 March 2011
Colorado Springs, CO— Colorado Engineering Inc. (CEI) is honored to be a 2011 winner
of the Nunn-Perry Award, under the Department of Defense (DoD) Mentor-Protégé (MP) program in
partnership with Mentor company Ball Aerospace and Technologies. The award was presented to both
companies for their accomplishments as a DoD Mentor-Protégé team. The esteemed Nunn-Perry Award,
named in honor of former Senator Sam Nunn and former Secretary of Defense William Perry, was first
awarded in 1995 to recognize outstanding Mentor-Protégé teams formed under the auspices of the DoD
Mentor-Protégé program. The award honors teams who have demonstrated exceptional growth and
development while contributing to the defense of this great Nation.
CEO of Colorado Engineering, Mrs. Nancy Scally, joined by President and Chief Technology Officer,
Mr. Larry Scally, accepted the award at the annual Department of Defense Mentor-Protégé Conference
on March 2nd at the Virginia Beach Conference Center in Virginia Beach, VA. "We are honored to be
selected for the Nunn-Perry Award," said Mrs. Scally, "The Mentor-Protégé accomplishments achieved
in partnership with Ball Aerospace are propelling CEI forward to leverage our growing capabilities
and technologies on emerging DoD systems. Our expanded infrastructure – including quality
processes and controls; standards compliance; facilities; and personnel security – is improving
CEI’s position to support and manage deployed programs."
To further sustain and support CEI’s steady growth and future goals, Ball Aerospace and CEI also
maintain a thriving partnership on three different radar programs for the U.S. Air Force and
U.S. Navy. CEI’s Protégé relationship with Ball Aerospace has enhanced its ability to grow into
a more successful business, capable of priming larger government contracting opportunities, with
benchmark certifications in quality management, expanded industry recognition, first rate
facilities, and added employment opportunities.
CEI, with its exceptional engineering expertise innovating hardware, software and systems
solutions, has seen constant growth and success over the past eight years. The CEI team has
seen a progression of honors most recently earning the SBA’s Tibbetts Award for its reconfigurable
advanced rapid-prototyping environment
(RARE)
technology in support of DoD’s search for cutting-edge R&D projects.
“This award is another step in our efforts to better serve our customers and continue
growth,” said CEI CEO, Nancy Scally. “Small businesses offer a great engine for
growth. That means we can employ more people in Colorado Springs and the USA.”
Founded in 2003, Colorado Springs-based CEI is a leader in the research, development, and
production of high technology hardware, software and systems solutions. A “customer first”
culture along with innovative approaches and an experienced engineering team enables CEI to
create high quality technological products while reducing cost and risk.
Colorado Engineering Recognized for Exceptional Innovation
Tibbetts Awards honor projects that bring federal R&D from the lab to the market
15 February 2011
Colorado Springs, CO— Colorado Engineering Inc. (CEI) today announced that it has
received a Tibbetts Award from the Small Business Administration (SBA) for its reconfigurable
advanced rapid-prototyping environment (RARE) technology. SBA presents the awards to companies and
individuals that have advanced technological innovation and economic growth.
“This award represents the culmination of years of effort begun in 2003 when we first
submitted a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposal,” said CEI CEO, Nancy Scally.
“We won that first submittal, and have since made the SBIR Program a cornerstone of our business
development.”
CEI’s Tibbetts Award recognizes the company’s work meeting the Department of Defense’s search for
cutting-edge R&D projects at small technology companies. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and
US Navy were key sponsors for CEI’s RARE concept. CEI’s RARE offers versatile signal processing
building blocks for rapid development of radar, EW, intelligence and communications systems for
ground, ship, and airborne platforms. The technology can benefit any application where high
performance embedded processing is needed while meeting cost, size, weight, and power constraints.
“Before participating in the SBIR Program, we had just started CEI with two people,”
continued Scally. “Today, thanks to projects like
RARE and our many SBIR successes, we’ve expanded our staff to 20 and have seen our revenues
grow year after year.”
Nancy Scally, joined by Larry Scally, CEI’s president and chief technical officer, accepted the
award at a ceremony this morning in Washington, DC. Afterward, they met with SBA Administrator,
Karen Mills, and attended a reception at the White House.
“This is a proud day not only for CEI but also for the city of Colorado Springs,” said
Sean Greene, SBA’s Associate Administrator for Investment and Senior Adviser for Innovation.
“Companies like CEI represent the best in American ingenuity.”
Founded in 2003, Colorado Springs-based CEI is a leader in the research, development, and
production of high technology hardware, software and systems solutions. A “customer first”
culture along with innovative approaches and an experienced engineering team enables CEI to
create high quality technological products while reducing cost and risk.