Cepeda Associates, Inc.

Cepeda Associates, Inc., a Louisville, Kentucky-based small business manufacturer, operates as a prime contractor (98% of awards) supplying specialized maritime and industrial components to the Department of Defense, with particular concentration on naval submarine life support systems, air purification equipment, and CO2 removal systems. The company is a Subchapter S Corporation structured as a for-profit organization and holds ISO 9001:2008 certification and Level I/SUBSAFE qualification for naval vessel components; it does not hold SBA 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, or other designated set-aside certifications and competes predominantly in full-and-open and small-business-set-aside categories on an equal basis.

Cepeda Associates' capability footprint centers on the design, manufacturing, repair, and testing of air purification systems, CO2 scrubber assemblies, thermocouples, valves, gaskets, heating elements, filters, and related maritime life support components. Recent concrete examples include a $1.64 million definitive contract from Naval Supply Systems Command (April 2026) for repair and modification of air purification equipment; a $784.3 million delivery order from Naval Supply Systems Command (December 2024) for compressed air purifier units; a $751.7 million firm fixed-price purchase order from U.S. Pacific Fleet Forces (May 2025) for evaluation and repair of CO2 scrubber units supporting the Trident Planned Equipment Replacement program; a $616.6 million purchase order from U.S. Pacific Fleet Forces (September 2025) for repair and refurbishment of CO2 scrubber Skid B units for Ohio-class submarines; and a $548.9 million definitive contract from Naval Sea Systems Command (March 2025) for rip-out, installation, and testing of scrubbers and burners. The company also holds an $894.8 million small-business-set-aside definitive contract from Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support (December 2024) to design, develop, and manufacture test equipment and procedures for fixtures initially designed by Electric Boat.

Customer concentration is heavily Navy-centric. The top five funding agencies account for 79% of awards by count and 92% by potential value. Naval Sea Systems Command leads by potential value at $112 million across 484 awards, followed by Naval Supply Systems Command at $73.6 million across 361 awards, and U.S. Pacific Fleet Forces at $15.3 million across 42 awards. Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime places the highest count at 579 awards but represents only $8.3 million in combined potential value—a wide volume-to-dollars split indicating smaller transaction sizes. The Department of the Navy as a whole accounts for a dominant share; across all Navy components and organizations, the Navy represents the overwhelming majority of Cepeda's workload.

Cepeda Associates sits on multiple Indefinite Delivery Contracts as a prime. The two highest-activity vehicles are Indefinite Delivery Contract N0010498GA751 (199 task orders, no ceiling specified in source) and Indefinite Delivery Contract N0010410GA751 (194 task orders, $26.5 million combined potential value). Other major vehicles include Indefinite Delivery Contract N0010405GA753 (166 task orders, $17 million combined potential value), Basic Ordering Agreement N0010415GA753 (142 task orders, $23.3 million combined potential value), and Basic Ordering Agreement N0010489GA002 (29 task orders). A single-award requirements contract with Naval Supply Systems Command for repair of National Item Identification Numbers supporting the Advanced Equipment Repair Program and Trident Planned Equipment Replacement Program carries a $5 million ceiling and extends through September 2025. These vehicles are the channels through which the majority of Cepeda's task-order work flows.

Activity has remained relatively stable over the past five years—137 awards in 2022, 124 in 2023, 149 in 2024, 139 in 2025, and 26 so far in 2026 (a partial-year figure). Total awards across prime and sub reach 2,506 since the earliest tracked award in 1980. Combined potential value stands at $239.1 million, though obligated dollars total $278.5 million, indicating that earlier task orders have been invoiced beyond their original ceilings or that obligated amounts reflect drawdowns against vehicles. Forty-five awards with completion dates in the next twenty-four months carry combined potential value of $29.9 million and face recompete exposure.

In its subcontractor role, Cepeda Associates delivers specialized components and manufacturing support to major defense primes. Recent sub-awards include work with Electric Boat Corporation on SSN 814 long lead-time material and DEOB (Deactivation and Disposition) administration (January 2025); submarine weapon cradle roller leaf spring fasteners for Electric Boat (October and September 2024); delivery of CO2 canister and desiccant procurement to Fairwinds Technologies LLC (August 2025); various burner and CO-H2 burner installation and testing work to Huntington Ingalls Inc. for USS Boise SSN 764 (September 2025); and FY22–FY26 program support machine-shop services to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (December 2025, November 2024, September 2024, August 2024). The company also subcontracts research and development with the University of South Alabama on next-generation CO2 capture processes for naval applications (January 2025).

Cepeda Associates' product concentration aligns with naval life support and environmental control. The top NAICS categories are Air Purification Equipment Manufacturing (333 awards), Industrial and Commercial Fan and Blower and Air Purification Equipment Manufacturing (331 awards), Gasket, Packing, and Sealing Device Manufacturing (270 awards), and Industrial Valve Manufacturing (123 awards). Top Product Service Code categories mirror this: Air Purification Equipment (938 awards), Packing and Gasket Materials (307 awards), and Valves, Nonpowered (131 awards). The company's footprint reflects deep specialization in subsystems and consumables for submarine and surface vessel maintenance and operational readiness, with minimal diversification into other defense or commercial sectors. Performance of work occurs primarily at the company's Parkway Village and main Louisville facilities, with some work performed at naval shipyards and maintenance facilities nationwide (Norfolk, Bremerton, Kittery, Pearl Harbor, Guam) and overseas (Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Silverdale Washington).

Fabrication & Welding to NAVSEA TechPub 278 and 248

Brazing qualified to NAVSEA 0900-LP-001-7000

NDT qualified to ASNT SNT-TC-1A, NAVSEA TechPub 271, MIL-STD-2035A

Precision CNC machining, milling, boring and drilling, turning and threading

Engineering, Design, Reverse Engineering, Prototype MFG, Qualification Testing (Endurance, Acoustic, Vibration, Shock, and Electrical).