Local Family-Owned Business Now WOSB Wins Large GSA Contracts

Written by Letty Alvarez

What originally began as a small, family-owned business 21 years ago, has now evolved to a WOSB (Woman-Owned Small Business) with several major federal awards. Pacific Ink, established in 2000 in San Diego County, is a global provider of office, janitorial, safety, and industrial supplies to the federal government and other large corporations. They take pride in their 99.8% error-free order processing and shipping rate.

Pacific Ink is and has always been a family affair. Jaime Mautz, president and co-founder wrote her company’s business plan as part of her MSBA degree in Entrepreneurship at San Diego State University and launched the business with her brother while he was finishing his undergraduate degree at USC. Jaime’s husband, Alex Mautz, COO and co-owner of Pacific Ink, Inc., also with a master’s from SDSU, joined in 2001. Jaime’s mom helped in the early frantic days with credit card processing and getting orders out the door, and as the business evolved Jaime’s dad worked for several years as the warehouse supervisor.

The company’s passion shows in their customer service and in their commitment to providing same-day shipping on 97% of all orders placed by 3 p.m., one to two business day delivery to 98% of the United States, and a 99.8% error-free order processing and shipping rate. They have an amazing team which is available from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST to meet their customers’ needs.

Even though Pacific Ink started with student loans and credit cards, they now have several multimillion-dollar federal contracts as a certified SBA (Small Business Administration) Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) in the office supplies space and recently expanded their federal contracts to facility supplies after being awarded a Hardware Superstore Contract by GSA (General Services Administration). The federal contracts helped Pacific Ink fuel their growth to $17 million in 2018, and they have continued to bid on and win government contracts since.

Jaime credits her relationship with PTAC and other economic development resources in helping her start, grow, and manage the business with Alex. Jaime said, “Mike Sabellico, from the San Diego, Orange, and Imperial County PTAC has helped with certification, business growth through government contracting, and marketing to government agencies, over the past five years. He is always available and will go the extra mile to ensure we get the government assistance we need, often on short notice!”

Learn more about what Pacific Ink does.