CE Thurston & Sons Inc.

CE Thurston & Sons Inc., a Norfolk, Virginia-based for-profit manufacturer of industrial equipment and consumables, operates predominantly as a prime contractor (82% of recent awards) supplying industrial machinery, hardware, lubricants, sealants, adhesives, insulation materials, and technical labor services to the Department of the Navy and Defense Logistics Agency. The company competes full-and-open with no SBA set-aside designation characterizing its prime footprint, though it has received occasional Total Small Business set-aside awards from Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) on individual purchase orders totaling roughly 8 percent of named prime awards. CE Thurston & Sons Inc. has served the federal government since at least 2002, operating as a parent company without named subsidiaries.

The vendor's capability portfolio centers on ship support materials and services for naval maintenance and repair. Representative prime work includes a $76,625 firm fixed-price purchase order from NAVSEA for an air compressor system with desiccant dryer and pneumatic no-loss drain valve kit for delivery to the Wallops Island, Virginia facility (August 2023); a $117,900 Total Small Business set-aside purchase order from NAVSEA for ship-to-shore power cable (March 2022); a $37,045.45 Total Small Business set-aside delivery of a hydraulic cylinder (May 2022); and recurring purchase orders for consumables including lubricating oils, greases, coolants, adhesives, foaming tape, welding equipment, pipe hangers, specialized cutting tools (reamers, end mills), and electrical components (switches, relays, transducers). A $2,000 purchase order from Veterans Integrated Service Network 6 in January 2023 covered chilled water pipe and insulation repair services at a VA facility.

Customer concentration sits almost entirely with the Navy and Defense Logistics Agency, which together account for 79 percent of award count. Naval Sea Systems Command dominates with 190 awards carrying $864 thousand in combined potential value, followed by Defense Logistics Agency with 83 awards and $2.4 million combined potential value. These two customers represent the bulk of the vendor's recent business. The Navy's United States Fleet Forces Command (Atlantic), the United States Marine Corps, and the Department of Veterans Affairs account for smaller shares. Most NAVSEA work flows through purchase orders averaging low five-figure values, with the vendor serving as a routine supplier to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and related facilities.

The vendor's prime work sits on two Defense Logistics Agency indefinite delivery contracts (DLA75093D3064 with 14 task orders and SP076098D7307 with 12 task orders) and NAICS-based procurement vehicles rather than government-wide acquisition contract seats. The vendor also places work under NAVSEA purchase order and blanket order vehicles including Complex and Non-Complex Maintenance on Surface Combatant and Amphibious Class Ships based in Norfolk (8 task orders), a single-award basic ordering agreement, and a Navy indefinite delivery contract (N0002421D4114, 8 task orders).

Activity has shown volatility with awards per year ranging from 21 in 2023 to 42 in 2024, then contracting to 33 in 2025 and 9 so far in 2026 (as of mid-April). The vendor carries a significant subcontracting footprint, with 71 sub-awards (18% of total) across major Navy ship repair primes including HII Fleet Support Group LLC, Marine Hydraulics International LLC, BAE Systems Maritime Solutions Norfolk Inc., East Coast Repair & Fabrication LLC, and Huntington Ingalls Inc. Sub work focuses on insulation installation, removal, and lagging support aboard nuclear-powered and conventionally powered surface combatants and amphibious assault ships, including USS John Stennis (CVN 74), USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19), USS Laboon (DDG 58), USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), USS Gravely (DDG 51), and USS Arlington (LPD 24). Insulation and lagging represents the core sub-award capability across these primes. The vendor's top NAICS categories are Ship Building and Repairing (71 awards), Petroleum Lubricating Oil and Grease Manufacturing (31 awards), and Fabricated Pipe and Pipe Fitting Manufacturing (16 awards); top PSC codes track consumables and fittings—hose, pipe, tube, and fittings (129 awards) and oils and greases (33 awards).