The Utah agency responsible for helping local businesses compete in the government marketplace has undergone a name change and has new government bosses. Formerly known as the Utah Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), the program is now called Utah APEX Accelerator and is overseen by the Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs. It formerly reported to the Defense Logistics Agency.
In Utah, the APEX Accelerator initiative is hosted and partly funded by the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, known as Go Utah.
“This is a significant change. We’ve had the PTAC brand for over 35 years,” said Chuck Spence, director of Utah APEX Accelerator. “This change requires the Utah APEX Accelerator to align itself with new Department of Defense program goals, including cybersecurity requirements, foreign-owned and controlled influence (FOCI) compliance, working more closely with prime defense contractors to find subcontracting opportunities and more.”
Spence said the customer service the agency provides its clients will remain consistent despite the changes. APEX Accelerator will maintain its regional offices and managers as part of Go Utah’s Business Services team. The APEX mission remains to help businesses successfully compete in the government marketplace by providing knowledgeable and outstanding customer service, he said.
With team members throughout Utah, APEX Accelerator is available to provide in-person one-on-one counseling, assistance in finding bid opportunities, guidance in responding to bid proposals, expertise on how to market products and services to government officials and monthly business outreaches and training workshops.
According to Spence, Go Utah is working with legislators as part of Utah’s 2023 general legislative session to update state statutes to match the APEX Accelerator's new federal branding guidelines.