Maintenance and repair services for the Rigaku Minstrel System and software upgrades

This contract action is for the acquisition of services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority and procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 13.106-1(b). The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Office of Acquisitions (OA) intends to award a single source purchase order to Formulatrix, Inc., 10 DeAngelo Drive, Bedford, MA 01730-2204, for a non-personal services contract for maintenance and repair services for the Rigaku Minstrel System and software upgrades. The services can only be acquired from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and only the manufacturer is authorized to sell the products. No third parties have been authorized by Formulatrix, Inc. to perform maintenance, services, or repair to the Rigaku Minstrel System and its software. In addition, only Formulatrix, Inc. can provide the highly unique, specialized replacement parts and application software upgrades that are required for maintenance and repair of the equipment and software. The anticipated period of performance will be for a twelve (12) month base period, plus four (4) additional 12-month option periods. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 811219 "Other Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance". Its associated Small Business Size Standard is $20,500,000.00. The Rigaku Imaging System robotically images crystallization trials in 96 well plates in both visible and UV light on set schedules. This instrument assists labs at NIEHS locate conditions that produced macromolecular crystals to solve high resolution crystal structures, as well as UV inspection, which cannot be done by a normal desktop microscope, helps the labs determine the nature of the crystal allowing that lab to distinguish between salt (bad) and protein (good) crystals. This saves samples and avoids wasted time chasing false positives. Performance is measured based on the machine's ability to image crystallization trials using all the crystallization plates on the programmed schedule. These images must be in focus; use all slots in the Hotel storage system; can be stored on the server; and images shall be visible on the server and by remote access computer terminals. The system shall be able to archive old images based on manual commands by operator. Crystallographers produce hundreds to thousands of crystallizations experiments that shall be inspected on a regular basis. The service contract will cover the Minstrel DT UV-730, the Gallery DT -726, and the software CrystalTrak required to operate the equipment. Due to the highly technical nature of Rigaku Imaging system, this service contract requires a highly skilled vendor who is specifically trained to service this equipment. The vendor shall have easy access to the design engineers involved in mechanical and software design for this equipment. This system was manufactured and sold by Rigaku Automation, however; Rigaku no longer manufactures or services the equipment. All the technical and intellectual property on the Rigaku automation instruments (Minstrel/Gallery 160) currently belongs to Formulatrix. All parts for the instruments are manufactured by Formulatrix. Formulatrix does not outsource service or production of parts and is; therefore, the only vendor that can perform these services. The vendor will be responsible for keeping the instrument running by performing necessary repairs to the equipment as well as the software during the period of performance. NIEHS will solicit and negotiate directly with Formulatrix, Inc. and no solicitation will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals or quotations; however, if an interested party believes they can meet the above requirement, all responsible sources may submit a quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The quotation must be submitted in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow the Government to determine if the party can perform the requirement. Offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All interested parties must express their interest and capabilities in writing via email to Teresa.McCall@nih.gov within ten (10) days after the date of publication of this notice. No faxed documents will be accepted. If no responsive statements are received within ten (10) days, an award will be made to Formulatrix, Inc.