Kinedyne Corp., which has a production plant in the East Hills Business Park, received the 2006 Small Business Partnership Award from the National Industries for the Severely Handicapped, or NISH.

The award is presented to a small business that has partnered with an agency – in this case, Lawrence-based Cottonwood Inc. – that supports persons with disabilities and resulting in increased work opportunities for persons with severe disabilities.

Kinedyne’s expertise assisted Cottonwood in securing a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to supply the military with cargo tie-down straps. Cottonwood is in its seventh year of supplying such straps – more than 3.3 million to date.

The contract provides steady work opportunities for 30 to 40 persons with disabilities.

Steve Atzeni, Kinedyne’s vice president for U.S. operations, accepted the award during NISH’s National Training and Achievement Conference on April 29 in Grapevine, Texas. Attending to represent Cottonwood were Sharon Spratt, chief executive officer; JR Condra, director of Cottonwood Industries; and Steve Steinbach, senior coordinator of Cottonwood Industries.