Highland Engineering, Inc.

Highland Engineering, Inc., a small business manufacturer based in Howell, Michigan, supplies specialized ground support equipment, water purification systems, containerized logistics platforms, and component assemblies to the Department of Defense as a prime contractor on 98% of its awards. The company is not designated under SBA set-aside categories (8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, HUBZone) but competes across a mix of Total Small Business set-aside and full-and-open procurements, with roughly equal representation in each posture across its recent footprint.

Highland's customer concentration is dominated by the Defense Logistics Agency and the Air Force, with a striking divergence between award volume and dollar value. By award count, the DLA Land and Maritime leads with 851 awards (combined potential value $19.1 million), followed by DLA Troop Support Construction and Equipment (280 awards, $6.2 million) and DLA Aviation (192 awards, $2.1 million), together representing 66% of all awards. By potential value, however, the U.S. Marine Corps anchors 20 awards worth $989.9 million—an order of magnitude larger than Highland's entire DLA footprint. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Robins accounts for 74 awards worth $234.1 million, dominated by the BEAR Water Systems III Blanket Purchase Agreement (a $55 million single-award BPA awarded May 28, 2025, with approximately $16.4 million in BPA calls issued between February and April 2026 for water systems, packaging, and logistical components). This stark split signals that Highland's mass is in high-volume, low-dollar transactional work with the DLA, while its strategic exposure is in large, technically complex systems delivered to Marine Corps and Air Force programs.

Highland holds position on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (194 task orders, $286.2 million combined potential value) and manages multiple single-award indefinite-delivery contracts with the DLA Land and Maritime covering platform sections, guard rail sections, and repair kits for pumping systems (ceiling values of $250,000 to $350,000 each, with performance through 2025–2027). Recent representative prime awards include a $778,971 firm fixed-price purchase order from Air Combat Command for JCAR RATL JACK items (September 19, 2024), a $336.5 million firm fixed-price order from Air Education and Training Command for reverse osmosis water purification units with NBC capabilities (September 10, 2024), a $298.6 million order from Air Force Special Operations Command for a Joint Air Transportable Containerized Kitchen system (August 22, 2024), and a $206.8 million firm fixed-price contract from Pacific Air Forces for customized containerized workshops (September 26, 2024).

Activity has declined from 131 awards in 2022 to 26 in 2026 (through September), a trajectory that reflects either portfolio contraction or reporting lag in the source data snapshot. Eight awards totaling $6 million in combined potential value face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing modest recompete exposure. Highland subcontracts to Lockheed Martin Corporation on bare-base and operational logistics support programs (five sub-awards spanning shower units, power distribution upgrades, and generator kits between February and November 2025) and to Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc. on specialized containerized workshop platforms (two sub-awards in February and September 2024). The subcontract footprint—47 awards representing 2% of the total—shows Highland functioning as both prime and component supplier on large-format military logistics platforms rather than as a traditional supply-chain sub.

Highland's capability portfolio centers on four concrete domains: water purification (reverse osmosis units ranging 1,500–1,800 gallons per hour with NBC filtration, student trainer configurations, and subsystem components); containerized deployable systems (ISU-90 shipping containers configured as dive lockers, weapon armories, refrigerated units, and workshops; expandable field shelters; and mobile platforms); fluid and pneumatic components (pumps, valves, hose assemblies, repair kits, and adapters spanning DLA stock numbers for maintenance and logistics supply); and miscellaneous ground support assemblies (electrical components, metal fabrications, filter elements, and cabinet assemblies for subsistence and aviation applications). The Top NAICS categories—Other Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (227 awards), Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Products (153 awards), and Fabricated Pipe and Pipe Fitting Manufacturing (102 awards)—align with this portfolio. Top PSC codes likewise reflect the mix: Water Purification Equipment (225 awards), Hose and Fittings (171 awards), Plumbing Fixtures (152 awards), and Power and Hand Pumps (149 awards).

Highland registered in the System for Award Management in January 2002 and has maintained continuous federal contracting presence across over two decades, with combined potential value across all awards of $1.95 billion and $293.5 million obligated to date. The company manufactures at its Howell, Michigan facility and performs work at subordinate locations including Warner Robins, Georgia (for Air Force water systems); Pasadena, California (for Coast Guard K9 logistics); and distributed DLA depots nationwide and overseas. Highland competes predominantly full-and-open except where set-asides are posted; it does not hold a GWAC or government-wide vehicle but maintains exclusive reliance on the GSA MAS and single-award IDIQs with individual agencies for vehicle access.