Francine M. Chavez

Francine M. Chavez serves as a Contract Specialist at the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (N55236), a key operational hub within the Department of the Navy responsible for sustaining naval vessel readiness. In this role, she manages the full lifecycle of procurement actions for critical industrial and engineering services essential to fleet maintenance and modernization. Her portfolio encompasses complex acquisitions in shipbuilding, repair, and naval engineering systems, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning with the Center’s strategic mission to maintain operational fleet availability. She routinely handles contract solicitations, negotiations, and award actions for high-value, technically demanding projects requiring specialized industrial capabilities. Chavez maintains consistent working relationships with a core group of experienced contractors including W. V. Construction Company, Turn Key Scaffold LLC, Premier Scaffold, Inc., Fairbanks Morse, LLC, and The Sherwin-Williams Company. These partnerships reflect a focus on industrial support services such as scaffolding, marine coating, propulsion system maintenance, and facility modernization. Her contracting patterns indicate a preference for established vendors with proven expertise in naval infrastructure and shipyard environments, fostering reliable, long-term vendor relationships grounded in technical proficiency and regulatory compliance. Her procurement approach reflects a balanced commitment to small business participation, with approximately one-third of her awards structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. While the majority of her acquisitions remain open to all competitors, she actively leverages small business set-asides to promote economic opportunity within the defense industrial base, demonstrating a deliberate effort to integrate qualified small businesses into mission-critical support roles. Chavez’s primary technical focus lies in NAICS 541330 (Engineering Services), 336611 (Ship Building and Repairing), and 334511 (Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing), reflecting her specialization in naval engineering, vessel repair, and maritime electronics. She procures a wide array of services and equipment critical to shipyard operations, including precision instrumentation, structural repairs, and corrosion control systems, demonstrating deep domain expertise in naval industrial support and maritime maintenance technologies.