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Foam Cups And Research - See Which Local Products And Services Are Fighting Covid-19

More than 20 Central and Western Massachusetts businesses have won hundreds of millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 contracts since the start of the pandemic, according to a government spending tracker.

COVID-19

COVID-19

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COVID-19

COVID-19

Photo Credit: Pixabay/fernandozhiminaicela

Items purchased locally include everything from foam cups to deep-sea transportation logistics.

The local business that has received the most COVID-19 work from the U.S. is VentureWell, formerly the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance Inc., in Hadley. The firm was awarded $20 million to provide program management/support services in “rapid acceleration of diagnostics” for the National Institutes of Health.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE A FULL LIST OF VENDORS AND CONTRACTS AWARDED.

The smallest local contract appears to be $54 for an iron or ironing service from BBMC in the Berkshires.

The community that has received the most contracts in Central and Western Massachusetts is either Westborough or West Springfield.

Westborough has six companies listed in the database that won federal COVID-19 contracts, but at least five of them appear to be the same business - United Site Services - selling porta-johns and portable showers to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Three separate West Springfield businesses were awarded federal pandemic contracts - Cyalume Tehcnologies Inc., Mansfield Paper Co. Inc., and New England Door Closer.

COVID-19 SPENDING

So far the federal government has awarded about $28.5 billion to 6,901 vendors in contracts to fight COVID-19, according to ProPublica’s Federal Purchases to Fight the Coronavirus Tracker. The independent news source's database provides detailed accounts of spending, dates, and services rendered, items bought.

Overall, Massachusetts vendors have received more than $1.4 billion in federal COVID-19 contracts since March 2020, the start of the pandemic in the U.S. Comparatively, Massachusetts has been given more government business due to the pandemic than 44 other states.

Another local business that received a big contract to fight COVID-19 is Mlsusa Corp., a veteran-owned business in Longmeadow. The company is involved in deep-sea foreign transport freight, according to Manta and Bloomberg. Mlsusa is being paid $4.9 million for handwashing stations and logistical support for the Department of the Navy.

LOCAL CONTRACTS

The following is a list of the Central and Western Massachusetts vendors that have won federal contracts to fight COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The information comes from ProPublica’s database and includes the community, business name, the amount of the contract, what it was for, and which federal agency purchased the items or services.

  • The Berkshires (Lanesborough) BBMC, Inc. (women-owned) $54 iron for the Federal Acquisition Service
  • Chicopee Crosstown Courtier Service, Inc. $727,000 courier/messenger services for the Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Fitchburg Act Services Corp. (women-owned) (minority-owned) $127,000 janitorial services for the Federal Aviation Administration
  • Hadley VentureWell, formerly National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance Inc., $20 million program management/support services in “rapid acceleration of diagnostics” for the National Institutes of Health
  • Holyoke Hamel’s Creative Catering $101,000 food, meals for the Department of the Army
  • Lancaster World Farmers Inc. (woman-owned, minority-owned) $45,763 fruits and vegetables for Agricultural Marketing Service
  • Lee Zogics LLC $268,000 disinfectant, toiletries for the Federal Acquisition Service
  • Leominster A&E Environmental Inc. (women-owned) $19,000 laundry/dry cleaning services for the U.S. Coast Guard
  • Longmeadow Mlsusa Corp (veteran-owned) $4.9 million handwashing stations and logistical support for the Department of the Navy
  • Milford Seracare Life Sciences Inc. (foreign-owned) $10,820 laboratory equipment and supplies for the National Institutes of Health
  • Shrewsbury Unic Pro, Inc. (women-owned, minority-owned) $34,983 janitorial services at various times for the Federal Aviation Administration
  • South Deerfield Julia Coffey (women-owned) $384,000 fruits and vegetables for Agricultural Marketing Service
  • Springfield Brican, Inc. (veteran-owned) $588,000 testing and vaccination site, building upgrades for the Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Springfield Ironclad Services, Inc. (veteran-owned) $649 hospital and infirmaries maintenance for the Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Westborough Security Engineered MCHY Co. (veteran-owned) $33,100 high-capacity shredders
  • Westborough United Site Services, Inc. $168,000 shower trailer, mobile restrooms for the Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Westborough United Site Services of California Inc. $200,000 rental, pump, and clean porta-johns for the Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Westborough United Site Services of Nevada, Inc. $4,251 plumbing, heating, and waste disposal equipment rental for the Forest Service
  • Westborough United Site Services Northeast, Inc. $855 toiletries equipment rental for the Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Westborough United Site Services of Texas, Inc. $289,000 porta-johns, shower and latrine trailer rentals, and medical and surgical equipment and supplies for the Department of Veterans Affairs
  • West Boylston PBDR Holdings LLC $136,000 patient lift for the Department of Veterans Affairs
  • West Springfield Cyalume Tehcnologies Inc. $1,824 nonelectrical lighting fixtures for Defense Logistics Agency
  • West Springfield Mansfield Paper Co. Inc. (veteran-owned) $265 foam cups for the Federal Acquisition Service
  • West Springfield New England Door Closer Inc. $14,289 hospital and infirmaries maintenance for the Department of Veterans Affairs

To see the full database, visit ProPublica online.

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