--NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT TO THERMO ELECTRON CORPORATION FOR AN IDENTIFINDER SURVEY SYSTEM

The U.S. Army Contracting Agency, Directorate of Contracting at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, intends to negotiate a sole source contract with Thermo Electron Corporation for the procurement of the IdentiFINDER IDF-NHG+ system. This device is a proprietary digital handheld multi-channel analyzer that functions as a dose rate meter, source finder, and nuclide identification system. The contract will be awarded under the North American Industry Classification System code 334519, which pertains to measuring and controlling devices manufacturing, with a small business size standard of 500 employees. This notice is issued under the authority of FAR 6.302-1, permitting sole source acquisition due to the proprietary nature of the equipment. Interested parties are invited to submit their interest in writing by the specified deadline of August 22, 2006, at 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time, though this notice does not constitute a request for competitive proposals or offers. The designated government point of contact for inquiries is Tanya Peel, Contract Specialist. The contract will support the Department of Defense's need for specialized radiation detection and identification equipment critical to its operations.