Ward Industries LLC

Ward Industries LLC, a small business based in Deer Lodge, Montana, provides heavy equipment with water services and personnel support for wildland fire suppression, all-hazard incident response, and prescribed forest management work across the federal government as a prime contractor under the Virtual Incident Procurement (VIPR) system. The company operates exclusively under total small business set-asides and holds no subcontractor relationships; all ten awards in the source are prime contracts or indefinite delivery contracts.

Ward Industries' entire federal footprint centers on the Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the National Interagency Fire Center. The top two customers account for 100% of recent awards: the National Interagency Fire Center (7 awards, $2.5 million combined potential value) and the USDA Forest Service Region 1–Northern Region (3 awards, $124 thousand combined potential value). The revenue concentration is stark — the National Interagency Fire Center anchors 96% of the combined potential value through multiple indefinite delivery contracts. All ten awards are classified under NAICS Support Activities for Forestry and PSC Natural Resources/Conservation–Forest-Range Fire Suppression/Presuppression.

Ward Industries holds seven indefinite delivery contracts under VIPR: six multiple-award IDCs awarded February 6, 2026, by the National Interagency Fire Center with individual ceilings of $500,000 each (two with completion dates in May 2030, one in April 2030, and one in April 2030), plus one earlier-awarded IDC from May 26, 2022, with a $250,000 ceiling and May 2025 completion date; one additional single-award IDC for $250,000 from May 21, 2025; and one for $250,000 from April 30, 2025. These contracts procure heavy equipment including dozers, excavators, feller bunchers, mulcher/masticators, road graders, skidders, skidgines, softtracks, and pumper cats, along with transportation, lodging, and trained personnel to support fire suppression across USDA Forest Service Regions 1, 2, 4, and 9 (East Zone). Three task orders have been called against these vehicles: a $58,650 delivery order from Region 1 in September 2026, a $33,774 order from Region 1 in September 2025, and a $31,450 order from Region 1 in September 2025. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $124 thousand, representing 5% of the $2.6 million combined potential value; the majority of the portfolio remains unexercised against the indefinite delivery ceilings. Activity shows volatility — one award in 2022, a gap through 2024, then five awards in 2025 and four in 2026 — indicating recent acceleration under the VIPR system's recompete cycle.