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Custom Manufacturing Engineering, Inc., (CME) is a woman-owned small business (WOSB) serving Government and industrial Monitoring and Control markets. Started in March 1997 with three employees by Dr. Nancy P. Crews, President, CME now has 130 employees and operates a 36,000 square foot Development and Manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg, Florida. Company operations include Research, Engineering, and Production operations. CME develops and delivers products and services within four key market areas: General Instrumentation, Power Electronics, Communications-Electronics, and Wireless Telemetry & Networked Sensors. Today, CME employs a wide range of technical and engineering talent solving customer needs with disciplines such as electrical, mechanical, software, and RF engineering. Our product focus includes:
CME's most successful Phase III to date is the Intelligent Power Management System (IPMS) that was initiated in 1998 as a Phase I contract award from the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) and their Command & Control Directorate (C2D). The IPMS provides an automated monitoring and control capability for load management in Army shelters and vehicles, especially those found performing command and control missions. A flexible architecture for intelligent power management suitable across multiple vehicle or shelter platforms, IPMS provides on-the-fly intelligent circuit breaker functionality and system-level load management based on set priorities. Additional investment in IPMS and related technology developments as a direct result of transition from Phase II to Phase III now totals over $9.4M. The first Phase III commercialization success involves a contract for CME to conduct System Development and Integration Testing of robust IPMS implementations for Program Manager Tactical Operation Centers (TOC) and Product Manager Platforms. These common IPMS implementations are being fully integrated into several platforms found in the Standardized Integrated Command Post System (SICPS) configuration. IPMS provides automated control of the power distribution box and AC/DC circuits including mission equipment, lights, uninterruptible power systems (UPS), and environmental control unit (ECU). The second Phase III success spun out of the Phase II SBIR project was an applied research project called Advanced Power Electronics. Under this contract, CME is conducting leading edge research and experimentation in supporting or directly related technologies such as miniature relays, "silent running" capabilities, automated power source control, on-board power storage, smart power switching, advanced power networking, and intelligent HVAC control. Results of this project have already provided several advanced technology solutions that we have inserted into the IPMS systems being integrated in Army platforms. The focus of the applied research contract at CME will provide technology enablers for insertion into other Army platforms as well as provide technology to support the Army's Future Combat System (FCS).
Sponsored by Product Manager Platforms, CME is completing the first IPMS system integration and risk reduction effort for several Standardized Integrated Command Post System (SICPS) platforms. This effort includes the integration of full-scale IPMS capabilities into several current Army vehicles and shelters. The full success of this effort should lead to a qualified product that could be fielded as a shelter or vehicle subsystem upgrade in future buys of these platforms. Follow-on military application opportunities could include the Future Combat System (FCS) and other tactical vehicles; Land Warrior power management; and power device control for remote unattended ground systems and sensors. Future IPMS enhancements resulting from continuing applied research will include enhanced silent running features, integrated rapid smart battery charging, and standard interfaces to emerging power sources. Potential commercial applications include intelligent building management systems, smart thermostats, and power management controllers for industrial facilities, yachts, RVs, or other heavily equipped mobile electronics and platforms.
CME won its first SBIR contract in 1998 and is an active SBIR contractor today with seven major SBIR efforts in Phase II or Phase III status. CME was recognized as a National Tibbetts Award Winner by the SBA for being a SBIR Model of Excellence; and was also recognized by the Army as a 2002 SBIR Commercialization Success Story. In September 2002, CME was recognized as one of the fastest growing, successful small business technology companies in Florida. CME's current SBIR projects include R&D in areas of Antenna Control Computer (ACC) for Phased Array Antenna for the Air Force, a Generic Remote Monitoring Subsystem (GRMS) for Approach Lighting Systems for the FAA, an Atmospheric Propagation Sensor/Analyzer (APPSA) for the Air Force, a portable SIGINT Sensor for the Army, a Hotspot Fire Detector/Sensor for the US Forestry Service, a portable high-pressure Nitrogen Charging System (NCS) for the Marine Corps, and Threat Warning Software (TWS) for USSOCOM. CME was recently selected by the US Navy to participate in their SBIR related Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP).
