NEWS

Ascendent Receives Second U.S. Small Business Administration Award

Ascendent Engineering & Safety Solutions, LLC was once again nominated by a DOE Prime Contractor as Small Business Subcontractor of the Year. Since January 2007, Ascendent has been providing specialists in Engineering, Design, and Safety for work on the MOX Project in Aiken, SC. On May 25, 2010 in recognition of outstanding contribution and service to Shaw AREVA MOX Services in satisfying the needs of the Federal procurement system, Ascendent was recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) with the “Administrators Award for Excellence”. This is the second time in two years that Ascendent has received this significant business recognition.

Ascendent Opens Regional Office in Richland, WA

In an effort to more effectively support contracts at the Department of Energy Hanford Site, Ascendent Engineering and Safety Solutions, LLC has opened a new office located in Richland, WA. The new office will give us better capability to serve existing contracts at the Hanford Site, and more rapidly and efficiently respond to new staffing needs/requirements funded by the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as well as increased D&D schedule activities and acceleration projects being implemented at the Site.

Ascendent currently employs over 80 personnel at the Hanford Site, many of whom are local residents. The new office will enhance our capability to support our own staff and our clients, as well as build an even stronger Northwest work force presence. The new office is located at 404 Bradley Blvd, Suite 302 just off George Washington Way in Richland. The Richland office will be managed by Mr. Eric Clements, Vice President of Western Operations, who is supported in the Richland office by Ms. Ericka Rice, Administrative Manager/Recruiter. The Richland office will also be supported by Ascendent’s central operations office located in Johnson City, TN.

Ascendent Receives 5-Year Contract from Savannah River Nuclear Solutions

On September 3, 2009, Ascendent, LLC was awarded a 5-year Indefinite Quantity contract by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) to provide nuclear safety and criticality safety staff augmentation support, and to perform defined nuclear and criticality safety tasks , in support of the management and operation of the DOE Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC. Under this contract Ascendent will perform nuclear safety analysis and nuclear criticality safety analysis, conduct hazards analysis, conduct unreviewed safety question (USQ) screening and evaluation, develop documented safety analyses, develop technical safety requirements and perform safety assessments.

The SRNS management and operating Prime Contract with DOE includes three key mission areas: environmental cleanup, operation of the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) activities. Environmental cleanup activities include management of spent nuclear fuel, nuclear materials, and non high-level radioactive waste; deactivation and decommissioning of excess facilities; and remediation of soil and groundwater. In support of the DOE national security and non-proliferation programs, the NNSA activities include operation of the tritium facilities, completion of the plutonium disposition program, and disposition of highly enriched uranium. The contract includes operation of SRNL which supports departmental environmental cleanup, energy security, and national security missions. Ascendent will provide support for all of these site mission areas.

Ascendent to Open Southeastern Office in Aiken, SC

In an effort to more effectively support contracts at the Savannah River Site and throughout the Southeast, Ascendent, LLC has opened a new office in Aiken, SC. The new office will give us better capability to serve existing contracts at the Savannah River site, and more quickly and efficiently respond to new staffing needs funded by the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Ascendent, LLC currently employs over 70 personnel at the Savannah River Site, many of whom are local residents. The new office will enhance our capability to support our own staff and our clients, as well as build an even stronger Southeastern work force. The new office is located at 6260 Woodside Executive Court, Building G, on Silver Bluff Road. The office will be managed by Dave Culberson, Vice President of Eastern Operations, and supported by Ascendent’s central operations office in Johnson City, TN. A grand opening celebration is planned.

Ascendent Announces New VP of Western Operations

Mr. Eric Clements has joined Ascendent, LLC as Vice President for Western Operations. Mr. Clements has 29 years experience in the nuclear industry. He formerly served as Manager of DOE Operations for AECOM Services, where he was responsible for directing all DOE, Department of Defense (DoD), and Commercial Nuclear and Non-Nuclear operations involving Architect/Engineering (A/E) needs, as well as requirements pertaining to A/E applications. Mr. Clements’ technical expertise includes nuclear facility design, engineering, start-up and hot operations, waste management and waste processing. Mr. Clements assumed the new position with Ascendent, LLC in May 2009. In this role he is responsible for managing the company’s existing contracts at the Hanford site and at the Idaho National Lab, as well as developing new business opportunities in the Western U.S. operations territory. Dave Culberson, formerly Vice President of Operations, assumes the new role of Vice President, Eastern Operations. Together Mr. Culberson and Mr. Clements will continue to implement Ascendent’s customer-first business philosophy, which emphasizes personal relationships with clients to better understand and anticipate their business needs.

Ascendent Receives ARRA Funding

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) is an economic stimulus package enacted by the Congress and signed into law by the President on February 17, 2009. The Act is intended to provide a stimulus to the U.S. economy in the wake of the economic downturn. ARRA is funded at approximately $787 billion, and includes federal tax cuts, expansion of unemployment benefits and other social welfare provisions, and domestic spending in education, health care, and infrastructure, including the energy sector. As a leading provider of technical resources for Hanford Remediation projects, the Idaho National Laboratory cleanup effort, and the Savannah River Site operations and management mission, Ascendent has received additional contracts for work funded by the ARRA. The Hanford site alone is expected to receive $1.96 billion for accelerated environmental cleanup work, and is expected to create or retain about 4,000 jobs over three years. Ascendent participated in the ARRA Job Fair hosted by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) in April of this year, and now employs over 50 individuals at the site, many of whom are supporting the ARRA effort. Similarly, the Idaho National Laboratory site and the Savannah River Site will be receiving significant ARRA funding (approximately $1 billion and $1.6 billion respectively) for accelerated cleanup work. Many of the new ARRA jobs will be filled by contractors, and as a leading provider of staff augmentation resources, Ascendent, LLC continues to hire new employees to support these efforts.