Carlisle & Finch Co

Carlisle & Finch Co., a Cincinnati, Ohio-based for-profit manufacturer, supplies specialized defense and maritime lighting equipment to federal agencies as a prime contractor across full-and-open and small business set-aside competitions, with 1,090 prime awards totaling $28.8 million in combined potential value since 1980 and no subcontract footprint.

The company manufactures searchlights, navigational lights, beacon lights, signal lights, xenon and mercury vapor lamps, power supplies, shutter assemblies, and related lighting fixtures for aviation maintenance, maritime operations, and logistics functions. Representative recent work spans the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation's acquisition of 40 searchlights under NSN 6230009192386 valued at $404.8 thousand (November 2023, Total Small Business set-aside purchase order); a $283.8 thousand DLA Aviation beacon light supply order (May 2025, no set-aside); a $239.3 thousand DLA Aviation signal light procurement of 117 units (April 2024, no set-aside); a $206.2 thousand U.S. Coast Guard power supply order for 350-watt searchlights (August 2025, no set-aside); and a $69.9 thousand Department of Navy purchase order for T-ATF vessel searchlights (December 2024, no set-aside).

Customer concentration runs heavily toward DLA Aviation, which accounts for 484 awards (44% of the portfolio) and $22.4 million in combined potential value (78% of dollars). The Department of Homeland Security U.S. Coast Guard places 74 awards worth $1.7 million. DLA Troop Support Construction and Equipment, DLA Land and Maritime, and DLA Troop Support Hardware round out the top five, collectively representing an additional 238 awards and $1.6 million. The top five agencies together represent 76% of awards and 89% of combined potential value, reflecting tight customer concentration anchored to DLA Aviation's inventory resupply mission.

Carlisle & Finch holds or has held multiple indefinite delivery contracts with DLA Aviation, including a $1.66 million IDC awarded March 2024 (no set-aside, through March 2028) with three delivery orders totaling $806.6 thousand issued to date; a $1.03 million Total Small Business IDC awarded November 2023 (through November 2028) with at least one $99.5 thousand delivery order issued August 2025; and a $751.9 thousand Total Small Business IDC awarded August 2024 (through August 2029). Additional smaller IDCs ($250 thousand ceiling each) span both Total Small Business and full-and-open vehicles, many with performance periods extending through 2026–2027. Task order activity on these vehicles is steady but modest in scale, ranging from single orders of $2.5 thousand to $44 thousand.

Award activity has declined materially in recent years. The portfolio registered 35 awards in 2022, 45 in 2023, 34 in 2024, 25 in 2025, and 6 awards year-to-date through June 2026. Only six awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, carrying combined potential value of $203 thousand, indicating minimal recompete exposure near term. The majority of active IDCs extend through 2027–2029, providing a pipeline of task order opportunities under standing vehicles.

The vendor competes across both Total Small Business set-asides and unrestricted full-and-open procurements; approximately 45% of awards carry Total Small Business designations, while the remainder are competed without set-asides. The company does not hold 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, or other socioeconomic certifications based on award record; small business set-aside eligibility appears to rest on size status alone. NAICS codes are concentrated in lighting equipment manufacturing (335139 and related codes account for the plurality); PSC codes center on electric portable hand lighting (4630), electric vehicular lights (4640), and indoor/outdoor electric lighting fixtures (4620).

Manufacturer of Marine Searchlights, Prison and Security Searchlights, Morse Code Signalling Searchlights, Navigation Lights, Night Vision Systems, Range Lanterns, Lighthouse Beacons, Aids to Navigation.