After demonstrating the system to military officials, a few cameras were purchased to be tested by the Marines and Army in Iraq. He earned his first large contract in May 2006, to produce 27 cameras in 30 days for the Marines. Sanborn notes that he won the contract without any political pull or congressional pressure. “What it does show is that you can have a good idea, and if you can get it to the right people…you can become a huge contractor,” he says.

The only way Sanborn says Gyrocam filled that order was his decision to buy enough inventory to build 200 systems, even before receiving the first DoD contract. “It cost almost $15 million to $18 million that had to be paid out with no contract. If we had not won the $43 million contract, I’d be working at the 7-11 now,” he says.

Rather than a gamble, Sanborn considered it a strategic move. “People always ask, ‘What is your key to success with this business?’ And I often think that it’s being resourceful enough to make sure you have the inventory.”

Gyrocam Systems has provided about 300 cameras—each costing between $375,000 and $400,000—for the military.

Two new Suburbans are now used as demonstration vehicles, but Sanborn still tests every camera system the company produces with the old SUV. “I couldn’t bear to get rid of it because it has sentimental value,” he says.

Cooper Notification

In this post-Sept. 11 world, the ability to communicate with citizens in the event of a disaster is paramount to local, state and federal governments. That’s why Cooper Industries established a new division, Cooper Notification, to address this need in the marketplace.

In 2007, Cooper acquired Sarasota-based MadahCom for its notification division and maintains the firm’s location here as one of its three offices. MadahCom’s WAVES (Wireless Audio Visual Emergency System) product has now become part of Cooper Notification’s platform, which includes the SAFEPATH emergency voice evacuation system and the Roam Secure emergency text alerting system.

Cooper Notification has sold some $30 million in goods and services to the Defense Department, both through contracts and direct sales. Its products can now be found in Iraq and other combat zones as well as on U.S. military bases, and the military’s use of Cooper’s systems definitely gives them a big stamp of approval.

“It speaks to the capability of the products,” says Tyler Johnston, director of market development. “We use taglines and marketing terms like ‘battlefield tested,’ ‘military approved,’ that kind of thing. It’s certainly something we’re proud of.”

But though its products seem a natural fit for the Defense Department, it doesn’t make the contracting process any easier. “Any government contract, whether military or otherwise, has fairly strict guidelines and processes to go through,” says Johnston, who works out of Cooper Notification’s Sarasota office. “It’s worth having someone experienced in the contracting process with the government on staff. It’s not something you want to just do as a hobby.

“It’s a highly competitive environment,” he continues, “especially once we moved from MadahCom, a small company, to Cooper Industries, a big company, because some of the protections in place for small businesses went away.”

Hyatt Survey Services

Hyatt Survey Services has been on the map at the Defense Department since 2005. That’s when the Bradenton-based firm won a five-year contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville district to provide surveying and mapping services worth up to $1 million a year. The work has taken them all over Florida, where they’ve worked on projects from beach renourishment to harbor dredging to the restoration of the Kissimmee River.

Founded in 2002, the firm is headed by the husband-and-wife team of Pamela and Russell Hyatt. They decided to try for a government contract after the experience Russell had while president of another company. “[For that contract], I spent five years in the marketing process, keeping our name in front of the Corps people who make decisions, ” says Russell. “Once I got in [to the Defense Department] with that other company, when I came on board with Pam it took us, I guess, two years to get a contract.”