Controlled Atmosphere Storage System

The USDA Agricultural Research Service is soliciting a Firm-Fixed Price contract for the procurement of a single Controlled Atmosphere Storage System under a Total Small Business Set-Aside, with the NAICS code 333415 and a size standard of 1,250 employees. The system must be retrofitted into existing cold rooms at the Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, West Virginia, to enable precise, independent control of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen levels across multiple sealed chambers for horticultural research, maintaining temperatures between 0–4°C. The system must include integrated sensors with ±0.2% accuracy, continuous data logging, a touchscreen interface, sealed access ports, and be constructed from durable, clear materials suitable for stackability within existing infrastructure. The evaluation methodology follows a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) approach, where technical acceptability is determined first based on compliance with Attachment 1 Specifications, followed by consideration of past performance, and ultimately award goes to the lowest-priced offer that is technically acceptable with acceptable or neutral past performance. All proposals must be submitted electronically via email by May 12, 2026, at 9:00 AM Eastern Time, referencing solicitation number 1232SA26Q0376, using the Standard Form 1449 and including the mandatory specifications attachment. Delivery is required within 45 days after award, with F.O.B. Destination terms at the Kearneysville, WV facility. Payment will be made in arrears through the Department of Treasury’s Invoice Processing Platform (IPP), and the contract is subject to a comprehensive set of FAR and AGAR clauses including whistleblower protections, anti-trafficking, labor standards, Buy American, cybersecurity safeguards, data rights restrictions, and prohibitions on certain supplier contract terms such as AI training with Government data or restrictions on Government use of deliverables. The contract is restricted to small businesses across multiple socioeconomic categories including HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, EDWOSB, and 8(a) firms, and contractors must maintain a valid UEI and CAGE code in SAM.gov. No key personnel, contract options, or organizational conflict of interest provisions are specified, and no contract value is stated as pricing fields remain unpopulated in the solicitation template.