Flatwater Metals Company

Flatwater Metals Company, a tribally owned, SBA HUBZone-certified small business subsidiary of Ho-Chunk, Inc., manufactures and supplies metal sheets, plates, bars, tubes, and non-metallic assemblies to the Department of Defense as a prime contractor, with nearly all recent awards carrying small business set-aside designations (HUBZone, Total Small Business, 8(a), or Buy Indian).

Flatwater Metals is headquartered in Winnebago, Nebraska and operates as a tax-exempt corporate entity owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska through its economic development corporation, Ho-Chunk, Inc. The vendor holds multiple federal certifications—SBA HUBZone, 8(a) Program Participant, Indian Economic Enterprise, and Self-Certified Small Disadvantaged Business—that anchor its entire prime contractor footprint. Across 1,640 awards spanning 2013 through April 2026, the company has delivered metal fabrication and specialty materials exclusively under set-aside vehicles, predominantly HUBZone and Total Small Business designations. No sub-award activity appears in the source; Flatwater Metals operates entirely as a prime.

Flatwater's customer base is heavily concentrated within Defense Logistics Agency logistics operations. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Construction and Equipment division accounts for 1,321 awards carrying $31.8 million in combined potential value, and DLA Land and Maritime adds 143 awards worth $8.7 million. A small cluster of Department of the Army work through TACOM Life Cycle Management Command contributes 9 awards valued at $7.8 million. These three customer components represent 98% of recent awards and approximately 91% of combined potential value. All major customers are defense logistics entities; civilian agency exposure is minimal (Department of Health and Human Services Indian Health Service holds 3 awards for $350 thousand). Work is performed at Flatwater Metals' facility in Winnebago, Nebraska, with deliveries directed to DLA distribution depots throughout the Continental United States and overseas.

Flatwater's capability portfolio is concrete and product-focused. Representative awards include a $305,064 total small business set-aside purchase order from DLA Land and Maritime (June 2025) for 342 hose assemblies for air distribution systems; a $154,700 HUBZone set-aside order from DLA Troop Support (August 2025) for 700 metal sheets; a $148,350 HUBZone set-aside order (December 2023) for 1,650 sheet metal units to DLA distribution in San Diego; and a $108,324 total small business set-aside contract (September 2025) for 119 hose assemblies. Smaller routine orders ($5,000–$50,000) are the norm, reflecting DLA's pattern of frequent purchase orders across its construction and equipment divisions. Flatwater also holds a $250,000 single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract with DLA Land and Maritime (award date October 8, 2025, completion October 7, 2026) for metal sheets under total small business set-aside, and a second $250,000 IDC with DLA Land and Maritime (award date October 10, 2024, completion October 10, 2025) similarly designated.

Activity has grown consistently. Award counts rose from 59 in 2022 to 81 in 2025, with 19 recorded through April 2026 year-to-date. Combined potential value stands at $57.4 million across all awards, with $22.1 million obligated (39% drawdown). Only 4 awards valued at $3.9 million face completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating low recompete pressure in the near term.

Flatwater's parent vehicle posture is dominated by DLA IDCs. The top five indefinite delivery contracts—all administered by Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support—carry 757 cumulative task orders. IDC SPE8EG15D0023 has received 317 task orders; SPE8EG15D0091, 202 task orders; SPE8EG15D0024, 111 task orders; SPE8EG15D0041, 69 task orders; and SPE8EG15D0053, 58 task orders. These vehicles structure Flatwater's work as a series of firm fixed-price delivery orders and purchase orders against standing indefinite delivery agreements, each carrying capacity ceilings in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars per vehicle. A separate $7.5 million multiple-award Blanket Purchase Agreement with the Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (running through March 2027) for steel products carries 9 documented task orders. An additional $250,000 single-award BPA with the Indian Health Service (completion September 30, 2025) supports surgical supplies and skin grafts for Claremore Indian Hospital, with at least two recorded $50,000 call orders issued against it under Buy Indian set-aside.

Category concentration is pronounced. The vendor's NAICS profile splits across metal fabrication: Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing (668 awards), Nonferrous Metal Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding (453 awards), and Rolled Steel Shape Manufacturing (285 awards). PSC codes reflect commodities: Plate, Sheet, Strip, Foil, and Leaf (868 awards), Plate, Sheet, Strip, and Foil nonferrous (527 awards), Bars and Rods (140 awards), and Hose and Flexible Tubing (26 awards). The portfolio is aligned entirely to metal products and structural materials; no services or IT work appears.

Flatwater Metals competes exclusively under small business set-asides—no full-and-open awards are documented. HUBZone set-asides dominate the recent award stream, with total small business set-asides as a secondary path. This profile positions Flatwater as a highly specialized prime for small business metal procurement to defense logistics, with zero sub-award footprint and minimal federal civilian customer exposure outside Indian Health Service medical supply calls. The company's tribally owned status and HUBZone location in Winnebago, Nebraska anchor its federal posture and limit competitive scope to reserved categories.

Flatwater Metals delivers high-quality and cost-effective raw and fabricated metal products to commercial and government clients in the aerospace, chemical processing, construction, manufacturing, marine/shipbuilding, military, nuclear, and transportation sectors.

Flatwater Metals is part of the Flatwater Group, a government contracting division of Ho-Chunk Inc., an economic development corporation owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Ho-Chunk, Inc.'s mission is to provide longer-term economic self-sufficiency and job opportunities for the Winnebago Tribe.