Fluor and Boeing have made their desire known to take over management of the government-owned, contractor-operated Dept. of Energy Sandia National Laboratory facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif.

Photo courtesy Sandia National Labs

Announcing a “teaming agreement,” Irving, Texas-based Fluor and Chicago-based Boeing say they are “ready and willing to bid” to manage the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration facilities, if the opportunity comes up, according to Keith Stephens, Fluor spokesperson.

The current Sandia contract, held by Lockheed since 1993, expires in September 2012. “We thought it important to announce our intentions,” Stephens says. “While there is not an announced competition, we could bring a pretty strong skill set if that were the case.”

The annual operating budget for the Sandia facilities is approximately $2.5 billion.

While different than work at other DOE nuclear sites, such as Hanford in Washington State that includes dismantling of structures and clean up of the polluted site, the management of Sandia mainly rests inside the laboratory system with the management of new technology and security. Stephens says that while there may be the potential for project management on the construction side of Sandia, anything at this point would be pure speculation.

Greg Meyer, senior vice president of Fluor Government Group, says in a statement that he believes the complimentary resources and skill sets of the two companies offers an “extremely compelling value proposition” for the DOE.

Fluor has been a longtime DOE contractor and has done work at Savannah River in South Carolina, Portsmouth in Piketon, Ohio and at Hanford. Fluor has worked with the DOE for more than six decades. The Boeing Company’s Defense, Space & Security divisions, headquartered in St. Louis, is one of the world’s largest of its kind and has supported national nuclear programs for more than five decades.

Greg Deiter, vice president of Boeing Defense & Government Services, adds in a statement that evolving to meet broader national security tasks that will complement the nuclear security mission of the National Nuclear Security Administration fits nicely with Boeing’s abilities.