The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) intends to award a contract on a sole source basis to Columbus Instruments International Corporation upon the basis of the authority provided at FAR 13.106-1(b)(1).

ERDC-CRREL intends to purchase a closed circuit respirometer and accessories with the following specifications:

1. General. A general-purpose closed circuit respirometer with multiple gas sensing technology, high sensitivity and multiple sampling chambers.

1. Operational characteristics
   1. Operational temperature range 15 °C and 25 °C
   2. Storage temperature range 15 °C and 25 °C
   3. Humidity range 5% to 95%
   4. Automatic compensation for changes in pressure and temperature
   5. Fully automated operations without the need for manual connection changes when sampling
   6. Ability to maintain operational pressure in tubing up to at least 1 meter in length
   7. Ability to operate continuously and autonomously up to three months
   8. Detection of methane at 0 to 500 ppm and carbon dioxide at 0 to 10,000 ppm
   9. 16 chamber base system minimum, with the ability to expand
   10. Compatible with Columbus Instruments expansion boxes (part numbers:  93206-5, 93301-2, 93206-1, and 93206-4)
2. Size/Weight
   1. No weight or size requirements

1. Electrical interface: Computer operating windows software

Necessary accessories:

1. 1. 16 sampling chamber vessels with a headspace volume ranging from 5 to 1,000 mL.
   2. Calibration gas standards
   3. Onsite installation and training for up to 6 CRREL personnel

Columbus Instruments International was identified as the only vendor capable of offering a product meeting the requisite specifications and interoperability requirements with CRREL’s existing Columbus Instruments respirometer expansion packs.  The existing packs will enable the prospective system up to 40 additional sample chambers for testing.  Procuring a respirometer from a different manufacturer would negate the benefit of the existing chambers, and would result in the additional and redundant cost of procuring new expansion packs.  

The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 334516, which has a size standard of 1,000 employees.

This Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement. Any interested party that believes they can fulfill this requirement should submit a capability statement to be reviewed. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will in any way alter the Government's acquisition strategy.

Please provide responses to this notice NLT 12:00 PM EST, Wednesday 20 May 2020 to: [email protected]

Telephone responses will not be accepted.

Responses to this notice will not be considered as a response to any solicitation, a request to be added to a prospective offerors list, or to receive a copy of any solicitation.  A determination by the Government not to compete the contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.  Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

Note: In order to be eligible for award of a Government contract, vendors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), have no active exclusions, and complete the FAR and DFARS representations and certifications.