Cloth, Gabardine: Wool, Polyester and Wool, conforming to MIL-DTL-10176L.  Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support (DLATS), Clothing & Textiles (C&T) Directorate, is conducting research to determine industry capabilities for the Cloth, Gabardine: Wool, Polyester and Wool. This is a Sources Sought only and not a solicitation for proposals. This announcement is considered Market Research in accordance with FAR 10. The primary purpose of this announcement is to identify potential sources with domestic and non-domestic manufacturing capabilities, as well as top-dye manufacturing capabilities, using American Cloth and American Cloth components. This announcement seeks to determine the availability of the production capacity, limitations, and challenges. Domestic sources using domestic components with domestic manufacturing capabilities are preferred in accordance with DFARS 252.225-7012 Preference for Certain Domestic Commodities (APR 2022).  However, non-domestic manufacturing facilities will also be considered, and will be required to use American Cloth and American Cloth components in the manufacture of the Cloth listed within this Sources Sought notice. All potential sources will be a U.S. based company, and only for the cloth listed within this sources sought notice, will be allowed to import non-domestic cloth with a requirement to use American cloth and American cloth components to supply the Cloth, Gabardine: Wool, Polyester and Wool, in accordance with the exact requirements found in the specification as well as shade approved for this cloth. These potential sources will sell these non-domestic cloths to the Contractor for use as Contractor Furnished Material in the manufacture of Dress Clothing end items.  Additional market research may be conducted prior to posting any solicitation. The Government will not pay for any information received in response to this Sources Sought, nor will the Government compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing the information provided to the Government. This Sources Sought does not constitute a commitment from the Government and any information provided in response to this Sources Sought will be used for informational purposes only. Any proprietary information submitted will be protected if appropriately marked. Vendor participation is not a promise for future business with the Government.

The information for the Cloth material is provided for informational purposes It is highly recommended that vendors review the technical documents for items you can support then decide to request specifications.

Vendors should use the following link to request item Specification: https://www.dla.mil/TroopSupport/ClothingandTextiles/SpecRequest.aspx

Please use the contract opportunity notice ID Sources_Sought_Cloth, Gabardine: Wool, Polyester and Wool to obtain access. Fill in the request for the Technical Package requirements needed and under Special Instructions annotate “URGENT – MARKET RESEARCH – EXPEDITE”.

The applicable North American Industrial Classification System Code (NAICS) is 313310 –Textiles and Finishing Mills. Small business size standards matched to industry NAICS codes are published by the Small Business Administration and are available at http://www.sba.gov/content/table-small-business-size-standards. Contractors must be registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) at System for Award Management (SAM) http://www.sam.gov to be eligible for an award. Representations and certifications must also be on record.

Submission requirements: Responses to this SOURCES SOUGHT must be sent to Syerita M. Avant, Contracting Officer, via email at [email protected] and to Earl Joyner, Contract Specialist, via email at [email protected] by the response date in this notice and should include company name, CAGE code, company size/profile, any other supportive information and answers to the below questions for each item for which you are potentially interested in supplying/supporting.

1. What is the absolute minimum quantity that DLA Troop Support would have to guarantee in order for your company to participate in a procurement for Cloth?
2. What is your monthly minimum and maximum production capacity?
3. What are your current and maximum production rate of yards per week?
4. What is the minimum monthly production quantity required to be economically producible?
5. What is your available operating capacity at present time?
6. What is the availability of the local labor pool?
7. Provide your Production Lead Time (PLT) for Cloth.
8. Are there any issues with availability of raw materials?
9. Please provide a summary of your current supply situation in terms of raw materials including major components, critical materials, lead-time issues, and suppliers.

Respondents will be placed on the solicitation mailing list. Any information provided is voluntary.