ibMilwaukee, formerly known as Industries for the Blind Milwaukee, has secured a $10.3 million contract from the Air Force to provide civil engineer supply store services, according to a Department of Defense announcement.
ibMilwaukee is a nonprofit office supply manufacturer that employs blind and visually impaired workers. The organization will provide contractor services at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts. The work is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 17, 2029.
The nonprofit’s ibMade division manufacturers writing implements and brushes, many of which go to the U.S. government and military as part of Ability One, a federal program that encourages the purchase of goods and services from organizations that employ blind or significantly disabled individuals.
The national organization Industries for the Blind was founded in 1952, which is also when the company secured its first federal contract to make brooms and brushes, according to the organization’s website.
In 2018, Industries for the Blind changed its names to Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
IBVI and its network of 94 associated nonprofit agencies nationwide serve as the largest employer of people who are blind.
