J -- NOAA SHIP RONALD H. BROWN CATERPILLAR ENGINE OVERHAULS

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) intends to negotiate with authorized Caterpillar repair facilities for the overhaul of two (2) Caterpillar 3500 Series Diesel Engines located aboard the NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN which is currently located at the Detyens Shipyard in Charleston, SC. This requirement is to include all labor, material, equipment, tools, staging, shop facilities, rigging, and transportation necessary to perform a 20,000 hour overhaul of a CAT 3508 diesel generator and a 10,000 hour "top end" overhaul of a CAT 3516 diesel generator. The performance period is estimated to be approximately 24 calendar days, with an anticipated start date of on or about January 17, 2007 and completion date of February 9, 2007. It is NOAA's intent to conduct this procurement in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The applicable NAICS is 333618. The Request for Quotation (RFQ) will be issued on or about January 8, 2007 with responses due on or about January 11, 2007 and an award date of January 16, 2007. The RFQ will be issued via electronic posting on the Federal Business Opportunity (FEDBIZOPPS) web page www.eps.gov. Hard copies of the RFQ will not be issued. It is incumbent upon contractors to monitor FEDBIZOPS for the release of the RFQ, specification, drawings and all subsequent amendments. The specification will be uploaded via www.eps.gov with the RFQ. To be eligible for award, offerors must be registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), www.ccr.gov, and obtain and provide on the offer a DUNS number by calling +1 (555) 000-0000. For information concerning the procurement, please forward inquiries via e-mail to Sandie Wallace at contact@example.gov or via telephone at +1 (555) 000-0000. JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION Pursuant to the requirements of FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Subpart 13.106-3(b) the justification for soliciting from a single source is supported by the following facts and rationale: 1. NOAA MOA-RB has a brand-name requirement for the overhaul of two (2) Caterpillar 3500 Series Diesel Engines located aboard the NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN. Caterpillar is the original equipment manufacturer of the engine; the parts required to overhaul this engine are not interchangeable with other brands of engines. The procedures to be employed to successfully accomplish the overhaul must be in accordance with Caterpillar service, maintenance and overhaul technical manuals, including service bulletins to ensure that the manufacturer's warranty is not compromised. 2. The synopsis and solicitation will be posted on FedBizOpps with the intent to solicit quotes only from authorized Caterpillar repair facilities with unique capabilities to satisfy NOAA's requirement. Quotes will be solicited only from Caterpillar dealers as they are the only vendors that are able to provide Caterpillar parts and warranty.