Crane Paper: Still on the Money.

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Author: Singer, Paul

Executive Brief

Meeting the quality, quantity, and security requirements for providing paper to the U.S. Treasury to print money is an enormous commitment -- so much so that, for about 125 years, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has used the same supplier: Crane & Co. of Dalton, Mass. But having a single supplier for something as critical as money makes folks in government nervous. So last year the bureau issued a solicitation, offering a four-year printing contract, with two additional years as a start-up period for a new manufacturer. Nice try. Crane filed a protest, pointing out that a 1916 law authorized only a four-year contract for buying paper, and the Government Accountability Office agreed. The bureau's plan amounts to a six-year contract, "in violation of the express statutory provision limiting currency contracts." Peachy for Crane, which gets a good chunk of its paper back each year -- Uncle Sam spends about $100 million annually for the blank stuff.

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By Paul Singer