US Market Entry · Allied Advanced-Technology, Aerospace & Semiconductor Manufacturers
The operator on the ground where you are landing.
You have US defense revenue you cannot capture from abroad, and a prototype that has to become a secure, on-shore US production line to win it. I build and run the compliant US operation that gets you there, from the floor to the data border, in the New England corridor where the primes already are.
The landing zone
New England is where allied defense suppliers put their US operations.
A qualifying-country manufacturer wins US defense work by standing up a real US operation, not by shipping across a border. That means a US entity, a US-person data boundary, and a floor that runs to a CMMC and ITAR-ready posture from the first day it opens.
This is an existing engagement applied to market entry. I am currently standing up US defense manufacturing operations for a Canadian-parent subsidiary, and I ran an Italian sensor multinational's North America operations before that. The Standard Work 2.0 install a domestic shop uses is the same one a foreign parent needs, pointed at the landing.
New England is the landing zone. My Brookline base, the prime relationships, and the regional supplier fluency are what a Brescia or an Ontario parent is buying: an operator already standing where you are landing.
Know your work class
Three classes of defense work, three different builds.
Before anyone quotes you a timeline, you need to know which class of work you are chasing. Most sub-tier DoD manufacturing lives in the middle class, and that is the one a foreign-owned US entity can stand up without a facility clearance.
Commercial and uncontrolled
Dual-use and commercial parts with no controlled technical data.
What it takes
A US entity and a clean quality system. No CMMC boundary or ITAR registration required.
Who owns it
Most parents can reach this class on their own.
CUI and ITAR-controlled, unclassified
The bulk of sub-tier DoD manufacturing: controlled technical data, no classified information.
What it takes
DDTC registration, a US-person data boundary, and CMMC Level 2 built into the workflow. Achievable for a foreign-owned US entity.
Who owns it
This is the class I build and run.
Classified
Work that touches classified information.
What it takes
A facility clearance and FOCI mitigation negotiated with DCSA.
Who owns it
Counsel and DCSA territory. I coordinate with your cleared-facility counsel; the clearance itself stays with them.
The data border
I build the US entity and the US-person data boundary so your American operation holds controlled technical data compliantly. Transfers to the parent happen under DDTC authorization or not at all. That is an ITAR-ready posture designed into the workflow, not a guarantee bolted on after.
The 90-day operating build
A compliant US floor, standing and running in one quarter.
The build runs in parallel, not in sequence. The operating model, the IT and OT environment, and the compliance posture come up together, because a prime gate does not wait for you to finish one before starting the next.
Days 1 to 30
Diagnostic and design
Stand up the US operating model on paper and on the floor: the org, the value stream, the SQDIP cadence, and the data boundary the ITAR scope will need.
Days 30 to 60
Stabilize and build
Bring the IT and OT environment up to a CMMC and ITAR-ready posture from day one, not retrofitted later. Scope the CUI enclave tight so the assessment stays sane.
Days 60 to 90
Qualify and run
Sequence the readiness evidence against the requirement your prime actually set, coordinate the FOCI and DDTC steps with your counsel, and hand the floor a system that holds after I step back.
Allied manufacturers
Every country I serve is a DFARS qualifying country.
The countries I work with are NATO members, major non-NATO allies, and defense-trade partners. Every one of them is a DFARS qualifying country under a reciprocal defense-procurement agreement with the Department of Defense.
Qualifying-country status is a procurement preference, not a shortcut. It does not waive ITAR, it does not waive CMMC, and it does not clear FOCI. Those regimes still apply, and building for them is the work.
Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France are the primary markets, each with a full country page. Japan and Spain have a market-entry brief. Australia and Switzerland are served too, with a brief on request.
What I own
The operations partner, not the law firm.
I stand up and run the compliant US operation: the floor, the operating model, the IT and OT build, the US-person data boundary, and the readiness evidence for the gate your prime set. Entity formation, FOCI mitigation, and site selection stay with your corporate counsel, your export-control counsel, and a site-selection advisor. I coordinate with them and own the operating outcome.