Knock Out-Trujillo Special Coatings JV

Knock Out-Trujillo Special Coatings JV, a Lakewood, Colorado-based limited liability partnership and joint venture between minority-owned and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses, operates as a prime contractor delivering protective coating, painting, pavement marking, and specialized facility maintenance services exclusively to Air Force and Space Force installations. The joint venture holds SBA certifications as an 8(a) business, woman-owned small business (WOSB), and self-certified small disadvantaged business (SDB), and competes predominantly under full-and-open procurement rather than set-asides—only two of 131 awards in the recent footprint carry 8(a) sole-source designations, while the remaining 129 awards carry no set-aside designation despite the vendor's eligibility.

Knock Out-Trujillo's customer concentration is extreme and geographically narrow. The Department of the Air Force Space Command accounts for 73 awards (56% of total count, $7.2 million combined potential value), while the Department of the Air Force Headquarters Air Force Academy accounts for 57 awards (44% of total count, $6.2 million), and a single $80 thousand award rounds out the portfolio. The vendor works exclusively at three Colorado installations: Peterson Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station (also called Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base), and the U.S. Air Force Academy, all in Colorado Springs. Representative work spans protective coating applications on buildings and infrastructure (a $300,217 delivery order from January 2026 for Peterson Air Force Base and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station through January 2029), road and parking lot striping (a $116,346 pavement marking task order at the Air Force Academy in 2023), epoxy flooring installation (a $79,692 hangar flooring project at Peterson Space Force Base in 2024), and dormitory interior painting (multiple $22,000–$55,000 orders across both bases).

The vendor's revenue concentration runs through two single-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts. The Air Force Space Command IDIQ (FA251721D0005), valued at $3.987 million and running through June 2026, anchors 73 task orders generating $2.8 million in combined potential value. The Air Force Academy IDIQ (FA700021D0001), valued at $3.999 million and running through February 2026, anchors 56 task orders generating $2.2 million in combined potential value. Individual task orders typically range from $2,600 to $175,000; the portfolio's combined potential value is $13.5 million, with $5 million obligated to date (37% execution rate). Knock Out-Trujillo performs all work as the prime contractor without material subcontractors. Across its NAICS footprint, the vendor's entire 131-award portfolio falls under NAICS 238320 (Painting and Wall Covering Contractors), with PSC codes weighted toward facility maintenance and repair.

Activity has remained steady—28 awards in 2022, 23 in 2023, 31 in 2024, 19 in 2025, and 3 in early 2026—but the two parent IDIQs face a significant recompete cliff. The Air Force Space Command IDIQ expires June 2026 and the Air Force Academy IDIQ expires February 2026, collectively creating recompete exposure on contracts representing the bulk of Knock Out-Trujillo's recent federal revenue. Both vehicles are sole-source 8(a) awards, meaning competitor pursuit under those set-aside vehicles will be restricted to other certified 8(a) joint ventures unless the Air Force chooses to recompete full-and-open.

To provide the best value to the government, Knock Out Painting (KO) and Trujillo Special Coatings, Inc. (TSC) have formed an 8(a) Joint Venture. Knock Out Painting's 8(a) program graduation date is May 20, 2028. The JV operates from the Trujillo Special Coatings main office located at 8055 W Hampden Ave, Lakewood, CO 80227. In additon, TSC owns a facility less than a quarter mile from the north gate of Peterson AFB which the JV will utilize to support contracts. This facility allows quick access to materials, equipment, and resources needed to support the subject effort. Currently, this facility supports staff and safety meetings, equipment storage, materials storage, materials holding for safe disposal of all paint, oil, and minerals (through a contract with the El Paso County Hazardous Waste Facility), and in-house recycling of paint thinner. With this facility minutes away from all locations at Peterson we are able save time and lower costs.