COMPA Industries, Inc. is truly a family business whose 20+ year history has intertwined with the family Lopez. The COMPA story begins in Anaheim, California where Rene LaForm Lopez began his vision to start not just a family company, but a family legacy.

It was in this light that the Lopez family joined with Mendoza family to start COMPA Industries, Inc. in September of 1986. Bert Mendoza was the godfather of the Lopez's youngest child, making Rene and Bert "Compadres". With Bert's 30 years of experience in electronics, fabricating computer boards from near raw materials, COMPA set up shop in Anaheim, California. COMPA's first offices were a warehouse that soldered computer boards and assembled the necessary components. Bert later sold his shares, leaving COMPA with the Lopez family.

In 1987 COMPA Industries was awarded Orange County's first Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) certification. Through an introduction by an old acquaintance, Rene started COMPA's first substantial contract in Bethesda, MD with the Department of Energy while maintaining the Anaheim, CA office to attend to local commercial projects. In the summer of 1993 Rene and Edna moved back to the desert southwest, relocated the headquarters to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and opened a satellite office in El Paso, Texas.

With the aid of key personnel, COMPA Industries began winning contracts local to the region. Within 2 years, COMPA Industries grew into 3 main offices (Albuquerque, El Paso and Washington DC), managing a staff of over 65 employees working on 8 government contracts with 6 different agencies in 16 different states. COMPA Industries now housed capabilities in Environmental Engineering, IT Administration, GIS, Facilities Management and Maintenance.

In June 1996, an automobile accident took the life of owner Rene, leaving Edna as sole owner/CEO. With the upcoming expiration of COMPA's 8(a) status, and the newly awarded Sandia National Laboratories Staff Augmentation contract, Edna began to restructure, and focus on the Staff Augmentation contract. She brought in three of her sons to support the effort: David, who would take on the responsibilities of President, Daniel who returned to serve again as COMPA's CFO, and Armando who began to tackle the internal IT infrastructure of the company.

By 2004 the Staff Augmentation contract had shown steady growth, and COMPA enjoyed the reputation of "Employer of Choice". Today, COMPA Industries has become a household word in the world of government Staff Augmentation, receiving awards at the national level.