THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 15, 1995 TAG: 9505130387
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 8 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: SMALL BUSINESS
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, BUSINESS WEEKLY
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
When Thomas Nixon retired as a master chief petty officer after 24 years in the Navy, he continued to do what he knew best, repairing Navy ships for private contractors. Then he noticed something.
``There were no black contractors in the ship repair arena in the area or even the East Coast,'' Nixon said.
So the burly, mustachioed Nixon put his skills to work for himself in 1985. With a partner, a pick-up truck and a small office, he founded Mid-Eastern Industries Inc. in Portsmouth to do small repair jobs on Navy vessels.
Nixon's company has succeeded in a business arena where most managers are white. This year he expects Mid-Eastern will do about $3.5 million of work for the Navy and the Military Sealift Command, nearly twice the $2 million it did in 1994. Mid-Eastern employs about 38 people full-time, though that number fluctuates depending on workload.
Being a minority has been a double-edged sword for Nixon in the ship repair business. In 1989, Mid-Eastern joined the Small Business Administration's 8(a) program, in which federal agencies set aside certain contracts for minority-owned companies.
``A lot of people think 8(a) companies just feast off set-asides. . . ,'' Nixon said. ``But I feel I'm a competitor and we can do anything as well as anyone else if we're on a level ball field.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
BILL TIERNAN/Staff
Thomas Nixon, Mid-Eastern Industries Inc.
KEYWORDS: AWARD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE by CNB