Cape Fear Engineering, Inc.

Cape Fear Engineering, Inc., a for-profit Subchapter S corporation based in Leland, North Carolina, provides architectural, engineering, design, and facility maintenance services to the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy as a prime contractor on 72 of its 82 recent federal awards (88%), competing predominantly full-and-open rather than under SBA set-asides, though several of its IDIQs carry total small business set-aside designations at the vehicle level.

The vendor's customer concentration is heavily weighted toward Marine Corps installations in North Carolina. The top four customer agencies account for all 82 awards: the United States Marine Corps led by award count with 66 awards ($14.1 million combined potential value), the Department of the Navy Naval Facilities Engineering Command with 12 awards ($44.3 million), the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers Engineering District Charleston with 3 awards ($30.4 million), and the Department of the Navy Installations Command with 1 award. The divergence between count and dollars reflects Cape Fear's role as a prime on high-dollar IDIQs held with NAVFAC and USACE Charleston while competing for lower-dollar delivery orders against those vehicles. Combined potential value across all recent awards totals $88.7 million, though only $16.3 million has been obligated to date (18% realization rate), indicating substantial ceiling availability and backlog.

Cape Fear's capability portfolio centers on civil design, architectural and engineering services, and infrastructure repair for military facilities. Representative work includes a $1.19 million delivery order from the Marine Corps (February 2024) for HVAC system upgrades, fuel infrastructure repairs, and electrical system improvements at Camp Lejeune; an $986,000 firm fixed-price order (August 2023) for Building 2615 kitchen renovation at Camp Lejeune under a total small business set-aside; and a $673,600 order (September 2022) for industrial area paving repairs at Camp Lejeune. Work spans roof repairs, building interior and exterior renovations, wastewater treatment facility design, fuel farm repairs, drainage improvements, and specialized infrastructure projects supporting Marine Corps operations and sustainment.

The vendor holds three significant IDVs anchoring its prime footprint. A $14 million single-award indefinite delivery contract with Naval Facilities Engineering Command for architectural and engineering civil design services at Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, awarded January 18, 2022, through January 17, 2027, has generated 66 delivery orders totaling $13.4 million in combined potential value since award. A $30 million multiple-award contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ENDIST Charleston) for small business A-E services, effective February 5, 2025, through February 5, 2030, has issued 2 delivery orders to date ($381 thousand combined potential value). A newly awarded $30 million single-award small business IDIQ with Naval Facilities Engineering Command for multi-discipline architecture and engineering services in the NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic Marine Corps area of responsibility (MCAS Beaufort and Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina), effective June 29, 2026, through June 30, 2031, has generated one delivery order so far ($907 thousand).

Activity trajectory shows sharp decline. Cape Fear awarded 32 delivery orders in 2022, 29 in 2023, then 9 in 2024, 3 in 2025, and 3 in 2026 year-to-date. The recompete cliff in the next twenty-four months includes 13 awards with combined potential value of $4.6 million approaching ultimate completion dates. The vendor's subcontractor footprint is limited; it performs specialized sub-work under RQ Construction, LLC on four awards spanning surveying, materials testing, inspections, and geotechnical engineering at Camp Lejeune and related Marine Corps facilities. Cape Fear competes as a prime on 88% of its portfolio, with 12% sub-award work, indicating primary reliance on direct prime relationships with the Marine Corps and Navy rather than a multi-tier subcontracting strategy.