Lab-Scale Spray Dryer with Air Compressor

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number 12505B21Q0158 is issued as a request for quote (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2021-07. The associated NAICS code is 339113 Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing with a small business size standard of 750 employees and the PSC code is 6640. The Department of Agriculture (ARS) has the need for the following products and services: Scope of Work: The USDA-ARS St. Paul, Minnesota location is requesting quotes for a Lab-scale spray dryer for concentrating plant protein samples from aqueous suspensions into a dry powder. Background: The St. Paul ARS Unit conducts research on utilizing plant protein concentrates from herbage for new uses in human foods and animal feeds. Various methods of extracting proteins need to be tested and the proteins concentrated for further analysis. Current methods such as centrifugation and freeze drying are time-consuming and can alter the product characteristics. A lab-scale spray dryer would accelerate the research and would more closely approximate the methods used in the food and feed industry to concentrate proteins, facilitating adoption of the new protein products. CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS Technical Requirements/Tasks: Required Specifications for Lab-scale spray dryer for aqueous samples: Easy set up and operation. Suitable for heat sensitive samples. Water evaporation rate of at least 1000 ml per hour. Programable operation to vary inlet temperature, airflow, outlet temperature. Ability to stir suspended liquid samples. Dried product that is a free-flowing powder of 1 - 40 micrometers without oxidation and minimal moisture. Easy disassembly for cleaning between samples. Benchtop or mobile unit. Integrated or accessory air compressor Onsite installation and training for instrument user(s). Full 1-year warranty. Evaluation Factors: The government intends to award a firm-fixed price award based on the lowest price technically acceptable service. The lowest priced service will be evaluated first; if not found acceptable, the next lowest priced service will be evaluated, and so on until an acceptable service is identified. The government will not review higher priced services if the lowest priced service is determined to be technically acceptable. For a vendor's services to be considered technically acceptable, they must meet all of the technical requirements identified in the solicitation. Deliverables / Schedule: Equipment should be sent to: USDA-ARS, Plant Science Research Unit, 1532 Lindig Ave. St. Paul, MN 55108; Delivery: 30-60 days after receipt of award. The vendor shall provide all items F.O.B: destination. The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed Price contract. Submitting a Quote: To be eligible for an award, all contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a current and active registration. A contractor can contact SAM by calling +1 (555) 000-0000 or e-mail at www.sam.gov. NO EXCEPTIONS. A DUNS (Dun and Bradstreet) number is required in order to register. Vendor must also include their DUNS# on their quote. Also, 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 contact@example.gov so that they can be added to the list of NDAA 889 Certified vendors. The submission and payment of invoices on the resulting contract will be made through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). As such, vendors must be currently registered or register in IPP in order to be able to submit and receive payment on invoices for the resulting contract. Offerors responding to this announcement shall submit their quote on SF 1449 (see attached). The quote should include all fees, delivery charges, and/or surcharges. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Please email all quotes in writing on the SF 1449 to contact@example.gov by no later than Friday, September 24, 2021 at 4:00 PM Central Standard Time. Questions in regard to this combined synopsis/solicitation must be submitted through email and are due no later than 12:00 PM CST on Friday, September 17, 2021. Answers to any questions received by that time will be posted as an amendment to this combined synopsis/solicitation.