For SRA International Inc., 2003 was the year the big contracts began rolling in.
Before March 2003, the company had never had a contract worth more than $100 million, said Ernst Volgenau, chairman and chief executive officer. Then SRA began winning contracts that topped $200 million, and in November 2003, the company received a $328 million contract for IT services for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
These successes helped the Fairfax, Va., defense contractor win the large contractor of the year award at the 2004 Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards banquet Oct. 13. The category included companies with more than $500 million in 2003 revenue.
"People frequently ask me, 'What is the SRA difference?' " Volgenau said. "Values and culture are what makes us different."
SRA requires a high ethical performance from its 3,500 employees and compliance with the law at all times, he said. The company's focus on service is based on three components: quality work and customer satisfaction; above-average employees fulfilled in their work; and serving the country and communities.
It is with pride that Volgenau noted that for five consecutive years, SRA has been chosen by Fortune magazine as one of the 100 best companies to work for. He also is proud of SRA's work for government customers
The company manages the Federal Parent Locator Service, which collected more than $20 billion in delinquent child support payments in 2003. SRA also developed and manages the National Practitioner Data Bank and the Healthcare Integrity Protection Data Bank for the Health and Human Services Department. The systems report adverse actions taken against health care practitioners, providers and suppliers.
For 26 years, SRA has offered IT services and solutions to agencies dealing with national security, health care and other issues. It serves more than 300 government customers on more than 800 projects. Its customers include the Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, Transportation and Treasury departments, the Environmental Protection Agency, Government Accountability Office, intelligence agencies, Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration and U.S. Agency for International Development.
SRA, which has been publicly traded for two and a half years, has had consistently good financial performance, Volgenau said. The company posted revenue of $615.8 million for its fiscal year ended June 30, a 37 percent increase over its 2003 revenue of $450.4 million. Volgenau expects SRA to have annual growth of 15 percent to 20 percent over the next five years and eventually reach $2 billion in sales, assuming the company has no significant acquisitions.
"You can be idealistic, but if you don't have a good financial performance, then it becomes academic," he said.
In September, the company won its largest contract to date: a five-year, $341 million task order to provide IT services and support for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s technology infrastructure.
Volgenau declined to specify which major government contracts SRA intends to pursue during the next year, but said, "we're bidding a fair number of large jobs."
— Roseanne Gerin
