A--INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE - AUTONOMOUS ICE MASS BUOYS

The US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory plans to sole source the procurement of four autonomous ice mass balance buoys and one autonomous ice mass buoy hull from MetOcean Data Systems. These buoys are specified to be the IMB MetOcean model, equipped with iridium satellite telemetry and GPS capabilities. The acquisition falls under NAICS code 334519 with a small business size standard of 500 employees. No solicitation package will be released, and this notice serves to inform potential interested parties that although competitive quotations are not being requested, responses expressing interest will be considered by the government before making a final determination on whether to proceed with a competitive procurement. Interested parties must submit their responses by November 22, 2011, at 4:30 PM EST via email only, with no telephone inquiries accepted. The government retains sole discretion to decide if the acquisition will be competed based on the responses received. The information gathered will primarily help determine the need for competitive procurement in the future, but it does not guarantee that competition will be introduced. The contracting activity is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers office in Hanover, New Hampshire.