Times-2 Rotary File Cabinets for a US Navy Facility in Kittery, Maine
Twenty legal-size Aurora Times-2 Speed Files with hanging-file rollout drawers, supplied and installed by MH-USA under a federal subcontract with prevailing-wage installation.
20 units
Legal-size, 6-tier starters and add-ons
240 drawers
Rollout drawers with hanging folder frames
Davis-Bacon
Prevailing-wage installation
Kittery, ME
Supplied from Salt Lake City
Project Overview
In early 2025 a US Navy facility in Kittery, Maine asked MH-USA for a high-density storage quote for active files. The work ended up as part of a larger federal equipment project, with the general contractor, Structural Associates, Inc., holding the subcontract and MH-USA supplying and installing the storage.
The answer was a set of Aurora Times-2 rotary file cabinets: six starter units and fourteen add-on units, all legal size and six tiers tall, fitted with rollout drawers that carry hanging folders. A Times-2 turns on its base like a lazy Susan, so staff always work from the front of the unit, and the closed cabinet shows a flat face on both sides.
The project ran from the first quote in February to installation in October 2025. Most of that time went to the steps that make federal work different: matching the quote to the solicitation, pricing prevailing wages, waiting on the award, and closing out the paperwork.
| Project detail | What was supplied |
|---|---|
| Customer | US Navy facility, Kittery, Maine |
| Contracting path | Subcontract to the general contractor, Structural Associates, Inc., on a federal equipment project |
| Equipment | Aurora Times-2 Speed Files, legal size, 6-tier: 6 starter units and 14 add-on units |
| Interiors | 240 rollout drawers with hanging folder frames |
| Finish | Aurora Moondust |
| Services | Quote and drawings, freight, delivery timing, installation at Davis-Bacon wage rates, closeout documents |
| Timeline | Quoted February 2025, subcontract August 2025, shipped and installed October 2025 |
Shelves or Drawers: Getting the Interior Right
The first quote went to the Navy contact with standard Times-2 interiors. A standard unit comes with adjustable, reversible shelves, which suit end-tab folders, binders and boxes. Then the general contractor asked for the same quote and sent over the solicitation. It called for drawers.
Rather than guess which document was right, our sales team flagged the difference and went back to the end user. The Navy confirmed it wanted drawers, and we sent the options Aurora makes for a legal-size Times-2 so the users could pick the one that matched how they file.
The users chose the rollout drawer with a hanging folder frame, in legal size. It fits a standard 10-inch Times-2 opening, and Aurora rates the legal drawer for 110 pounds of material. The final order carried 240 of them across the twenty units, so every tier of every cabinet opens to a drawer of hanging files instead of a fixed shelf.
Getting this settled at quote stage mattered. Drawers change the price, the weight and the install time. Catching the mismatch in February meant the subcontract, drawings and factory order all described the same cabinet.
If some material needs its own lock inside an already locked cabinet, the security drawer is the Aurora part to ask about. One limit worth knowing: Aurora’s electronic keypad lock cannot be used on Times-2 security drawers, so the two are specified separately.
Interiors can also change later. Aurora sells its accessories to fit existing cabinets, so a unit bought with shelves can take drawers down the road. For more on interior choices, see the interior options section of the Times-2 Speed Files hub.
Pricing a Federal Job: Prevailing Wage and After-Hours Work
Federal construction work carries labor rules that a typical office furniture order does not. The installation had to be priced at prevailing wage rates under the Davis-Bacon Act, and the project called for work outside normal hours. Our team checked with the installer first. Prevailing wage alone did not move the install price, but night and weekend rates are different, so the installation line was revised upward and shown as after-hours installation with Davis-Bacon.
- Quote to the contractor, not just the user: the revised quote went to the general contractor with its name on it, along with a color chart and the room layouts.
- Price hold: we agreed to hold pricing for 90 days while the contractor worked toward award.
- Follow-up through the award gap: the project went quiet for months, which is normal on federal work. We checked in at the 90-day mark and again in June, and picked up straight away when the contractor came back in late July.
- Formal drawings: once the job moved, our design team produced formal drawings of the rooms and we sent Aurora’s product literature for the submittal.
One question from the contractor is worth repeating for anyone new to rotary files. They asked why the drawings showed the cabinets closed on both sides. That is how a Times-2 works. Closed, the unit shows a solid face front and back. Turned open, both faces open, and the interior rotates so the user always reaches the files from the front. For a longer comparison with lateral files, see our rotating office cabinet guide.
The subcontract itself arrived in early August with the standard federal flow-down clauses and the project’s wage determination. We reviewed it, confirmed that installation would be done by our installation partner, and returned it. Our crews are used to the access requirements that come with working on military installations.
Production and a Late Finish Change
The Aurora factory order went in on August 4, 2025, the same day the subcontract was signed, in the Gray Mist finish the contractor had picked from the color chart. About a month later, with the order already in production, the contractor asked to change the color.
A finish change after release is not always possible, and we said so. We took the request straight to Aurora, which confirmed the same day that it could switch the order to Moondust. The cabinets shipped in the new finish without pushing the schedule.
The lesson for buyers: settle the finish before the order is released. Times-2 cabinets are built to order by size, finish and interior, so a late change depends on where the job sits in the factory.
Matching Delivery to the Installer and the Site
Aurora’s estimated ship date came up before the installer’s first open week. Rather than let cabinets sit on a dock, we asked the contractor whether the site could receive and hold the freight or whether shipment should wait. The order shipped in mid-October, timed so the installation crew could meet the truck.
The site also had its own working schedule. The job had been quoted as nights and weekends. When the contractor asked whether the crew could work the site’s standard daytime shift instead, the answer was yes. The after-hours pricing already covered the more demanding schedule, so the change cost the customer nothing.
Base access credentials for each crew member were processed ahead of the start date, which takes time on any military installation and belongs on the schedule from day one.
Receive
Crew meets the freight, checks the delivery against the packing list and looks for damage.
Stage in place
Boxed parts go straight to the rooms where the cabinets will stand.
Build and level
Starter bases first, add-ons joined to them, each level before the rotors go on.
Fit drawers
Rollout drawers with hanging folder frames go in last, after the spin check.
The contractor asked whether the units could be assembled in one area and moved into place. They should not be. A Times-2 row is built where it will stand, with each add-on leveled and clamped to its neighbor. Installation began the week of October 13, 2025. Our Times-2 installation planning guide covers the same sequence, the floor-load questions and Aurora’s warranty terms.
Closeout: Parts, Payroll and Paperwork
A few small parts came up after installation: a drawer hanging rail set and pilot pin canopy parts. Aurora shipped them at no charge in early November, and they went straight to our installation contact for fitting.
Federal closeout has its own checklist. Before the contractor could pay, it needed the signed subcontract on file, including a notarized consent to do business electronically, and certified payroll reports for the installation crew under the Davis-Bacon requirements. We gathered the payroll records from our installer and sent the documents back.
None of this is unusual. It is simply part of the job, and a supplier who plans for it keeps the general contractor’s own closeout on track.
What Government Buyers Can Take From This Project
Agencies buying on contract rather than through a construction project should start with our GSA Times Two Speed Files page. For broader base and agency storage, including weapons, gear and parts, see military and government storage.
Shop Legal-Size Folders and File Storage
Legal-size file jackets, pockets and records boxes for filling and archiving rotary cabinet files.
US Navy Times-2 Project FAQs
Can Times-2 rotary file cabinets hold hanging files?
Do Times-2 cabinets come with shelves or drawers?
Can MH-USA work as a subcontractor on federal projects?
Can Times-2 cabinets be assembled in one place and moved?
Can the cabinet color be changed after ordering?
Can federal agencies buy Times-2 cabinets on GSA contract?
Quoting Rotary File Storage for a Government Project?
Send the solicitation or a list of what you need to store. We will match the Times-2 interior to the spec, price the labor requirements and supply the drawings and closeout documents.