When people think about Historic Manassas, they don’t typically think of the maritime industry. Yet that’s the industry this Prince William Chamber of Commerce business award winner is in.
Headquartered in the heart of Downtown Manassas, Hepburn and Sons, LLC is family-owned. With deep roots in the Navy, the company’s main objective is to give the U.S. Navy a leg up in winning missions by helping them integrate new technologies.
In a little over a year, Hepburn and Sons, LLC has grown from eight to 30 employees, opened a cyber security laboratory and won several prime federal research and development contracts relating to material science innovation, specifically electromagnetic pulse protection, ship integration and data security.
Because of their rapid growth, they were selected as one of twelve companies in the Virginia Economic Gardening Pilot Program this past year. The VEGPP seeks out exceptional small businesses that have shown promise to offer strategic solutions to further company growth, with the purpose of growing the local economy.
A Manassas native, Scott Hepburn, Principal and COO, said he thinks Hepburn and Sons won the Chamber Business Excellence award because of their volunteerism and community involvement. Hepburn is chair of the Manassas Business Council and a board member of the Manassas Economic Development Authority. A big believer in developing Historic Manassas as a place of presence, Hepburn said they chose to locate in the city’s downtown on purpose.
“We love having our business in Old Town Manassas,” he said. “It’s the perfect location, near enough to D.C. but without the commute.” Hepburn said given his company’s international reach, it’s great to have such easy access to airports as well.
But beyond that, Hepburn and Sons has taken five interns under their wing, not only training them in areas like accounting and administration, but assisting them in selecting college classes and plotting their career path. Proud of their accomplishments, Hepburn expressed the satisfaction he gets from helping to direct these students whom he knows from the community.
Hepburn said he plans to support the City of Manassas Public Schools Career and Technical Education (CTE) program by taking more interns in the future, this time by hiring students enrolled in CTE.
“And the Winners Are” is a series highlighting Prince William Chamber of Commerce business award winners.
