SEMPRE Named SBA Regional Prime Contractor of the Year
Here’s what that means for the mission.
By Rob Spalding, CEO, SEMPRE
The customers we serve know communication resilience and security aren’t nice-to-haves, they’re essential. And today, I’m proud to share that SEMPRE has been named the 2025 Rocky Mountains Regional Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) for providing just that.
For those who may not know, this award is part of the SBA’s National Small Business Week, recognizing small businesses that take on some of the nation’s biggest challenges and don’t just win contracts but work for the benefit of the people they serve.
We’re a small business by size, but our mission is anything but. Our customers are the men and women defending this country, modernizing our national security infrastructure, and transforming how critical industries—like aerospace and defense—stay connected and operational in environments where no communication isn’t an option.
That’s exactly why we built SEMPRE.
At SEMPRE, we build hardened systems that promise security and resilience, and then we deliver on it. Whether it’s flightline maintainers who need to turn a jet fast, a smart factory pushing the boundaries of advanced manufacturing, or a disaster recovery team coordinating in the harshest conditions, our job is to keep them connected, protected and ready.
Jon Huppenthal, our Hardware CTO, was specifically recognized for his leadership and deep technical expertise. With a career spanning more than four decades—including pioneering roles at Cray Research and co-founding SRC Computers with Seymour Cray—Jon has led advancements in reconfigurable computing, secure hardware architecture and high-performance systems. His work directly contributed to the development of our current product the SEMPRE T—a 36x36” EMP-hardened stand-alone system that integrates private 5G, hybrid cloud and edge computing, with a SATCOM gateway to meet the real-world demands of mission-critical operations.
Our award was sponsored by one of our customers in Operations Planning from a strategic base in the US Air Force Global Strike Command—someone who’s seen firsthand what our technology does in the field. That’s what makes this award meaningful because it isn’t about what we say we do, it’s about what our customers experience.
Yes, we are going to celebrate the talent of our team. We’re proud to be recognized. But we’re even more proud of what comes next.
We’re just getting started.
Photo caption:
Hardware CTO Jon Huppenthal and Team SEMPRE receive SBA 2025 Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year for the Rocky Mountains Region. (Colorado-based Hardware Team. Front l-r Doug Cowles, Tim Richter, Jon Huppenthal, Phil Sexton, Jeff Lawn. Back l-r Lee Burton, AJ Moreno, Greg Weingart, Tim Tewalt, Mark Harrand)