APAC Success Story - JohnsonDanforth, Inc.

JohnsonDanforth, Inc. is a professional firm specializing in healthcare construction, architecture, engineering, and Initial Outfitting and Transition program management located in Little Rock. 

JDa, which the company also goes by, was started by Kevin Johnson and his business partner Fred Danforth in 2001 as a consulting business. In 2014, they gained their Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business certification and began the other aspects of their business.

Since that time, they have expanded their staff and now employee 16 people. All of their leadership staff possess former experience in the healthcare industry at the administration level. Although their corporate office is in Little Rock, they have branch offices in South Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and California.   

All of JDa’s work is currently with the federal government (95% with Veterans Affairs (VA) and 5% with other government agencies which included a contract for roads underneath the Golden Gate Bridge). 

Johnson became aware of the Arkansas Procurement Assistance Center and its services through the Small Business Administration. Since becoming an APAC client, Johnson and his company have been highly successful in obtaining government contracts. 

His very first contract was for hospital gas testing certifications in Alaska four years ago and was worth $600 per year. Today, he is still working on that contract and it is now worth $12 million per year.  Johnson was awarded the largest to date VA contract for elevator service in California worth $13 million over a 5-year period. 

Johnson's most recent contract was an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for hospital furniture worth $2.5 billion over a 5-year period and split among seven companies. To date, JDa is working on projects in California, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, and Arkansas.

Johnson credits APAC and its staff with getting his company off of the ground in the beginning by teaching them how to bid for contracts. He also mentioned how valuable it was that the staff provided direction in helping to clarify government regulatory bodies and looked at proposals and suggested ways to strengthen the technical aspects.

“I do not believe that we would be where we are today without the assistance of APAC,” Johnson said. 

His advice to other businesses seeking contracts is to work with the different government agencies and build relationships.

Connect with our APAC counselors at 501-671-2390 to learn how you can expand your business into new areas.