Black Box Safety, Inc.

Black Box Safety, Inc., a service-disabled veteran-owned small business headquartered in El Cajon, California, delivers protective apparel, body armor, tactical gear, safety equipment, and specialized supplies to federal agencies as a prime contractor. The company is a self-certified small disadvantaged business and Subchapter S corporation that competes predominantly under small-business set-asides — SDVOSB, total small business, and veteran-owned designations recur across 60% of recent prime awards, with the remainder on full-and-open or unsegmented delivery orders through GSA and agency-specific vehicles.

Black Box Safety's capability footprint centers on ballistic protection systems, body armor vests and carriers, tactical uniforms and apparel, protective equipment including personal protective equipment and decontamination supplies, illumination and marking products, and specialized safety technologies. Representative work includes a $1.147 billion Blanket Purchase Agreement with the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General for ballistic vests and accessories (effective through May 2029), a $1 million BPA with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for electrical equipment (effective through February 2030), and a $500,000 GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract for protective apparel and law enforcement equipment (effective through November 2027). Recent task orders exemplify the product mix: a $1.908 million total-small-business delivery order from Customs and Border Protection for flashlights and headlamps (September 2025), a $315,475 purchase order from VA Veterans Integrated Service Network 19 for waste containers and custodial products (November 2025), a $104,765 delivery order from Air Force Global Strike Command for soft plate body armor (January 2025), and a $812,006 veteran-owned small business set-aside from VA VISN 15 for Hemcon bandages (April 2022).

Customer concentration is broad across defense and civilian agencies. The top five funding entities by award count account for 43% of recent awards: VA Veterans Integrated Service Network 22 (8 awards, $376 thousand), the Drug Enforcement Administration (7 awards, $105 thousand), GSA Federal Acquisition Service (6 awards, $505 thousand), the Department of the Army (6 awards, $162 thousand), and the Department of Defense Inspector General (6 awards, $2.5 million combined potential value). By potential value, the distribution shifts — the DoD Inspector General's BPA anchor ($2.5 million across 6 awards) and the Army Corps of Engineers BPAs ($1 million across 2 awards) dominate the dollar concentration, while VA VISN 15's Hemcon contract ($812 thousand) and VISN 12's body armor orders ($871 thousand) round out the top tier, collectively representing 49% of combined potential value. The vendor serves 33 distinct customer agencies spanning VA, DoD, DHS, DEA, DLA, GSA, and civilian law enforcement.

Black Box Safety holds three standing IDVs that anchor task-order activity: the $1.147 million DoD IG BPA (6 awards through 2029), the $1 million Army Corps of Engineers BPA (2 awards through 2030), and the $500,000 GSA Multiple Award Schedule (23 delivery orders). The GSA MAS drives the highest transaction volume — 23 orders across civilian and defense end-users including the DEA, Army, Navy, Air Force, and DHS Secret Service, with order values ranging from $356 to $104,765 and product scope spanning body armor, tactical uniforms, rucksacks, and specialized equipment. BPA calls under the Army Corps vehicle and a $236,000 sub-vehicle (Blanket Purchase Agreement HQ003424A0010) generate intermittent electrical and tactical equipment demand.

Activity has grown sharply — from 2 awards in 2022 to 17 in 2024 and 32 in 2025 — reflecting increasing task-order generation under the GSA MAS and DoD IG BPA. Only 3 awards (combined potential value $118 thousand) face ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months, reducing near-term recompete risk; the DoD IG BPA and Army Corps BPAs remain stable through 2029–2031.

Black Box Safety's product concentration aligns with NAICS and PSC framing: 35 awards carry Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing coding, 13 fall under Apparel Accessories Manufacturing, and 6 cite Miscellaneous Electrical Equipment Manufacturing. By PSC, Armor Personal (22 awards) and Clothing Special Purpose (13 awards) dominate, with Medical and Surgical Instruments (8 awards) and Safety and Rescue Equipment (3 awards) completing the core portfolio. Performance locations center on the El Cajon facility but flex to customer delivery points including Tulsa, Oklahoma; Bremerton, Washington; Springfield, Illinois; and distributed military installations. The vendor operates as a pure prime (76 awards, 100% prime split) with no subcontract activity in the source data.

SDVOSB; selling tactical gear, body armor, ballistic shields, MRO products, safety equipment, personal protective equipment, PPE. Medical, Fire & rescue equipment, safety apparel, First Aid, and AED supplies.