Local business takes aim at government contracting

High Noon Unlimited of Pinellas County

Over the past decade, High Noon Unlimited, formerly High Noon Holsters, has experienced tremendous growth. After expanding into other areas of the industry such as tactical equipment and K-9 products, Director of Sales Jess Rainer thought the next logical step would be to start marketing their products to local, state and federal entities to attempt to secure government contracts.

“We thought It could be a good opportunity,” Rainer said. “At the time we started, we didn’t know anything. I ended up doing a lot of research and I came across the PTAC program and realized we have a local office here.”

At the Channelside office in Tampa, he met Florida PTAC at University of South Florida procurement specialist, Karen Krymski, who he said has been extremely helpful ever since.

“From the beginning she has helped with pretty much everything,” he said. “From getting things started, learning about what needs to be done in terms of registration with the government, how the process works, where opportunities are and what pitfalls to avoid.”

With Krymski’s help, High Noon Unlimited was able to secure five contracts worth $800,000 in the first year.

“We are extremely pleased and again, we really thank Karen for all of her help,” he said. “She had a wealth of information that we were able to tap into. I would keep running into situations and I would just give her a call to find out what her thoughts were and the best ways to deal with it.”

With the help of Krymski, the Tarpon Springs-based company also discovered that it met the qualifications to become HUBZone certified.

For Rainer, who formerly worked in the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley, this whole process was a new adventure. He recommends other business owners who would like to get into government contracting follow in his footsteps and seek out the help of the Florida PTAC at USF.

“There is so much to know,” he said. “I’m still learning and I’ve been doing this for over a year now. For anyone interested in doing business with the government, I can’t recommend more strongly that they definitely contact their local PTAC representative and take advantage of the knowledge and wisdom that they have to help you do it better and faster.”