A market survey is being conducted to determine if there are adequate Small Business, SBA certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), Women-Owned, or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) contractors available for a proposed project who meet the specific criteria outlined below.

This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is not a solicitation Announcement or Request for Quote. It does not constitute any commitment by the Government. No award will result from this notice. The purpose is to conduct market research to gain knowledge of potentially qualified sources and to determine the capability of Small Business and/or Large Business companies to provide the supplies/services described below. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will be used by the Government to make an appropriate acquisition decision. Department of Agriculture (ARS) requests responses from ALL socioeconomic categories in order to gain a more complete understanding of the market for these products and service.

The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will not award a contract on the basis of responses or pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this notice. After completing an analysis of the responses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition to 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, Women-Owned, or other small business firms, or to proceed with issuing an unrestricted solicitation, inviting full and open competition.

The NAICS code for the expected acquisition is 334516, with a Size Standard of 1,000 employees and the PSC Code is 6640. Any subsequent procurement will be conducted as a commercial item purchased in accordance with FAR Part 12 and as a Simplified Acquisition Procedure in accordance with FAR Part 13.

The Department of Agriculture (ARS) has the need for the following products:

001) Pyrolysis Sampler

Scope of Work:  

The USDA-ARS Plant Science Research Unit (PSRU) in St. Paul, MN is seeking sources for a pyrolysis sampler.

Background:  

We investigate the biochemical quality of forage plants in relation to nutritional value for dairy and beef cattle. Additional research for alternative uses of forage plants is also a targeted activity. Project research is performed both in the laboratory and the field. This project looks at the chemical analysis of forage plants.  Lab analyses performed include standard nutritional analyses that are utilized in both industry and research environments to characterize the biochemical quality (in terms of dairy and beef production) of various forage plants. One of the analyses that the project performs is the analysis of pre cursor lignin compounds. These are analyzed by means of pyrolysis through a GC/MSD. The pyrolysis procedure was developed as a replacement for an older procedure that uses dangerous and toxic chemicals and generates a hazardous chemical waste stream.  The new requested equipment is a replacement for older equipment. The project works in conjunction with plant breeders and animal scientists as well as researchers in arenas of unique uses of forage plants and their chemical compounds.

Technical Requirements: 

We require a pyrolytic sampler with direct injection connections to an existing GC/MSD system. The system must have the following capabilities:

• Control of existing GC remote start
• Temperature control range of ambient +10C to 1300C in manual operation mode
• Filament type heating element for rapid heating and cooling
• Heating rates from 0.01C/sec to 20,000C/sec ballistc
• Temperature reproducibility of +/-0.1C
• Auto chamber cleaning capability between runs
• Able to run 10 desorption or pyrolysis runs per single sample
• Heated transfer line for easy reconfiguration of injection port to other uses and movable placement of base unit
• Built in leak check and self diagnostics
• Optional 48 sample auto sampler that can be retro fitted to basic model
• Included (no charge) Win 10 supported software AND be able to run in full control stand alone (no computer needed)
• Equipment support/spares available for a minimum of 7 years

Data Rights:  

Data produced by this analytical equipment will be maintained by Dr. Jo Heuschele and other scientists at the Plant Science Research Unit in accordance with their data management plan.

Evaluation Factors: 

Lowest price, technically acceptable. The government intends to award a firm-fixed price award based on the lowest price technically acceptable product. The lowest priced product will be evaluated first; if not found acceptable, the next lowest priced product will be evaluated, and so on until an acceptable product is identified. The government will not review higher priced products if the lowest priced product is determined to be technically acceptable. For a vendor’s products to be considered technically acceptable, they must meet all of the technical requirements identified in the solicitation.

Key Deliverables:

• Pyrolysis base unit including power cords, gas lines, gas connectors, gas valves
• Heated sample transfer line
• Software
• Accessories pack (sample holders)
• Delivery

Delivery:  

Delivery is to be made to the USDA-ARS PSRU located at 1991 Upper Buford Cr, 411 Borlaug Hall, St. Paul, MN 55108 no later than 60 days after award.

The vendor shall provide all items F.O.B: destination. Location of the Government site is aboard USDA-ARS St. Paul, MN and will be identified in the contract. The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed Price contract.

Capability Statement:

Companies who have the experience, as well as an interest in doing business with ARS, should submit a Capabilities Statement which, for this notice, is not expected to be a proposal, but rather short statements regarding the company’s ability to demonstrate their expertise and experience in relation to the areas specified in this notice.

Companies should also indicate whether they are a Small Business, SBA-certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), SDVOSB, or Women-Owned Small Business.

To be eligible, all vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a current and active registration. A DUNS (Dun and Bradstreet) number is required in order to register in SAM. A vendor can contact SAM by calling 1-866-606-8220 or e-mail at www.sam.gov. NO EXCEPTIONS. Vendor must include their DUNS# on their capability statements.

Finally, to be eligible, all vendors must be NDAA 889 Certified. If they do not currently have a NDAA 889 Certification, then they must complete the attached NDAA 889 Certification form and submit it to [email protected] so that they can be added to the list of NDAA 889 Certified vendors.

Submitting a Capability Statements:

Responses should be submitted via email to [email protected] by Thursday, September 16, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. CST. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted.

Disclaimer:

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Respondents are also advised that under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of information or provide feedback about any of the information received.  After review of the responses received, the Government may issue a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation. No proprietary, sensitive, confidential or classified information shall be included with your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation.