Smithers MSE Inc.

Smithers MSE Inc., a veteran-owned testing and materials characterization firm based in Akron, Ohio, operates as a prime contractor (98% of recent awards) providing tire safety compliance testing, mechanical property measurement of recycled plastics, and standards enforcement support to federal agencies on a full-and-open basis with no set-aside posture. The company has held federal contracts since at least the early 1980s and maintains two active single-award IDIQs with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), each valued at $1.5 million and running through July 2026.

NHTSA dominates Smithers' customer concentration by a decisive margin. The agency accounts for 49 of 90 total awards (54%) and $12.4 million of the $18.4 million combined potential value (67%) in Smithers' recent portfolio. The next tier — the Department of the Navy Naval Sea Systems Command (6 awards, $1.5 million), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Pittsburgh (4 awards, $63 thousand), and the Environmental Protection Agency (4 awards, $593 thousand combined) — collectively represent 26% of dollar volume but trail NHTSA by more than five to one. Fourteen agencies have transacted with Smithers, but the concentration is extreme: the top five fund 80% of combined potential value.

Work under the two NHTSA IDIQs flows through delivery orders for tire FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) Numbers 119 and 139 compliance testing. Representative recent prime work includes a $171,183.05 delivery order awarded August 1, 2024 (performance through July 31, 2025) for Contract Year 3 tire FMVSS compliance testing, a $130,985.12 order from February 2023 for 28 FMVSS No. 119 tests, and a $124,342 order from August 2024 for 109 additional tire tests. A third active NHTSA vehicle — Indefinite Delivery Contract DTNH2210D00214 — anchors 11 task orders totaling $1.3 million. CDC Pittsburgh drives Smithers' secondary capability stream through purchase orders for characterization of recycled plastic properties: a $34,744.88 order from September 2023 for mechanical property measurements on 3D printer filaments made from recycled plastic, a $10,906.93 order from March 2026 for recycled polyethylene terephthalate characterization, and a $6,008 order from February 2026 for recycled polypropylene characterization. Performance locations are Akron, Ohio (primary) and Washington, D.C. (secondary, for NHTSA work).

Activity has remained modest and inconsistent — one award in 2022, three in 2023, three in 2024, two in 2025, and five in 2026 — with eight awards (combined potential value $1 million) facing ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months. Smithers carries minimal subcontract exposure: two sub awards on record, one to Eastern Research Group Inc. (EPA air quality work, February 2026) and one to Electric Boat Corporation (design support, September 2023). The vendor's capability footprint is narrowly specialized: 43 of 90 awards fall under NAICS 541712 (Testing Laboratories and Services), and the top PSC categories are Support Professional Engineering/Technical (26 awards) and Equipment and Materials Testing — Miscellaneous (13 awards) and Tires and Tubes (7 awards).