Dwayne Junker, COO of Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc.

Last year, Dwayne Junker, COO of Epsilon Systems Solutions, took his staff to the Navy Gold Coast conference in Mission Valley and returned with the seeds of a plan that he says will generate millions of dollars in new revenue from the acquisition of a Temecula security technology company.

In May, Epsilon completed the purchase of Critical Infrastructure Solutions. Junker says the acquisition will not only generate $10 million to $15 million in additional revenue over the first 12 months but will make the security technology market a major focus of Epsilon’s IT and communications business, which is predominantly defense related.

“Some of the security technology companies we met and talked with last year at Gold Coast influenced our decision on the first acquisition we have ever done,” says Junker. “We did surveys of the security technology market. It’s a growing business base.”

Epsilon, which was formed in 1998 by Bryan Min, its CEO, has grown to 460 employees. Junker says the company, headquartered in Mission Valley, anticipates about $70 million in revenue in 2006, $50 million of that from business with the Department of Defense. The Navy is one of its biggest customers.

The Gold Coast conference, also called the Navy Small Business Opportunity Conference, comes to San Diego on Aug. 8 at the Town and Country Hotel & Convention Center. But unlike last year, when the program was produced by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), this year’s conference was organized by the San Diego chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association, a 3,400-member organization, with SPAWAR as a principal sponsor. Junker is the president of San Diego’s NDIA chapter and is centrally involved in the event.

Gold Coast, which dates back 16 years, was meant to provide a forum to assist businesses — particularly small businesses — on how to attract government contracts, primarily with the Department of Defense. The event attracts companies that have never done defense work as well as firms that have considerable experience in government work and want to attract more contracts. The conference also gives the businesses the opportunity to network with each other. “We’ve (Epsilon) developed strategic alliances with companies we’ve come across at Gold Coast where we were able to strengthen our support position with the government,” says Junker.

The theme for the Aug. 8 conference is “Finding Your Focus. Your Business…Navy Needs.” It will include a general session and trade show plus breakout sessions in the afternoon. NDIA expects between 1,200 and 1,500 attendants. Last year’s conference drew 1,088 attendants and 254 trade show exhibitors. NDIA has a fund-raising goal of $90,000 to produce the 2006 conference. For additional information, visit 2006goldcoast.ndia-sd.org.

— Manny Cruz