By Melinda Whitfield, Senior Procurement Consultant
Carter Motorsports opened in February 1994 in the small town of Hanson in Western Kentucky. For many years the local economy was dependent on the coal industry. About six years ago, owner, Randy Carter, realized the need to diversify due to the continued decline of the coal industry. While some facilities used Carter Motorsports equipment, the Wendell Ford Training Center and Corps of Engineers were unable to purchase from them, because they were not on the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) schedule.
The GSA, established in 1949, is a federal agency that helps manage and support the basic functions of the various other federal agencies. The mission of the GSA is to “deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across government.” For businesses to sell to the government, they must be a part of the GSA schedule.
In 2015, Randy reached out to state legislators who suggested that he call the Small Business Administration. After several calls to various program offices, he was referred to KYPTAC. Randy and his KYPTAC consultant had extensive one-on-one meetings to go over the arduous task of getting on the GSA schedule step by step. Getting on the GSA schedule enabled them to discover what agencies might be looking for the items they offer. Being on the GSA schedule has kept Carter Motorsports relatively busy over the past five years. “There is no doubt in my mind that we couldn’t have done this on our own. The KYPTAC made it possible for us to do business with the federal government. We are forever beholding to KYPTAC.”
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