Orion International Technologies Inc - Hispanic Spotlight - company profile

New Mexico Business Journal, August, 1991

Orion International Technologies Inc.

ORION INTERNATIONAL Technologies Inc., - headquartered in Albuquerque with offices in Las Cruces; Boston; Melbourne, Fla.; and Washington, D.C. - is a prime example of the growth of Hispanic influence and high tech expertise in the United States.

It's the fifth fastest growing Hispanic business in the nation and a rising star in New Mexico's push by private industry into high technology activities.

Beginning in 1985 with a $25,000 research and development contract for research analysis for the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Orion International has shown what perseverance can do.

Guided by Dr. Miguel Rios, the company president and founder, Orion is considered one of the premier Hispanic firms in the nation.

Orion's revenues are $5 million a year. In 1989, the company was awarded a $25.5 million contract for missile defense.

The company's activities focus on high tech engineering, nuclear engineering, data and sensor system development, energy technologies, space technologies, electro-optics, radar and signal processing.

Its clients include the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, national laboratories and private industry.

New Mexico still leads the nation in its share of businesses owned by Hispanics. Almost two of every 10 companies (or 18 percent) in the state are Hispanic owned.

Hispanic-owned companies nationwide nearly doubled between 1982 and 1987, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's '87 report. The 422,373 Hispanic-owned businesses in '87 were turning $24.7 billion a year.