Provide Tropical Atmosphere Ocean Array (TAO) Buoy Hulls and Steel Inserts

DESCRIPTION: This Sources Sought notice is for planning purposes only and is issued in accordance with FAR Provision 52.215-3 provided at: http://www.acquisition.gov/far/current html/52_215.html#wp1144503. No solicitation document exists at this time. Issuance of this notice does not constitute any obligation on the part of the Government to procure these items or to issue a solicitation. In addition, the Government is under no obligation to pay for information submitted in response to this Sources Sought, and responses to this notice cannot be accepted as offers. Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such. The applicable NAICS Code is 325211 - Plastic Material and Resin Manufacturing, which has a corresponding size standard of 750 employees. This notice is being issued pursuant to FAR Part 10 (Market Research) in order to: (1) Determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency's requirements exists; (2) Determine if commercial items suitable to meet the agency's needs are available or could be modified to meet the agency's requirements and (3) Determine the commercial practices of company's engaged in providing the needed service or supply. Pursuant to FAR Part 6 and FAR Part 19, competition and set-aside decisions may be based on the results of this market research. This notice in no way obligates the Government to any further action. The Eastern Acquisition Division (EAD) of NOAA 200 Granby Street, Suite 800, Norfolk, VA 23510, is seeking information from potential sources for the National Weather Service (NWS), National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), to identify sources capable of providing: - Fifteen (15) each fiberglass/urethane foam buoy hulls; - Three (3) each ATLAS pC02 fiberglass over foam buoy hulls and - Ten (10) each stainless steel buoy inserts. The specification drawing is attached to this Notice and is subject to revision at the sole discretion of the Government. Interested parties are expected to review this Notice and the design specification to become familiar with the requirement. The specification drawing located in this Notice is subject to revision. If a solicitation is issued, all revised documents will be included in the solicitation package. NOAA contemplates award of firm fixed-price contract and the anticipated delivery time to build a total of fifteen (15) each fiberglass/urethane foam buoy hulls; 3 each fiberglass over foam ATLAS pC02 buoy hulls and 10 each stainless steel buoy inserts is 90 calendar days after receipt of order. Background Information: The TAO buoy system, called"ATLAS buoy system" was developed in the early l980s to measure upper ocean heat content and surface meteorological parameters in support of air-sea interaction studies in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Since that time, the array has been the centerpiece of an international climate study with nearly 70 surface buoys in the TAO array spanning the Pacific from approximately 8'N to 8'S from longitudes 137'E to 95'W. The moorings and data system have proven to be robust and reliable but have changed little from the original design, which was limited by the technology available at the time. NOAA requires these buoys to repair NDBC's Tropical Atmosphere/Ocean Array (TAO) of buoys in order to maintain NDBC's operational readiness and ability to maintain key stations within the TAO network. The current TAO network consists of 70 moorings in the Tropical Pacific Ocean, telemetering oceanographic and meteorological data to shore in real-time via the Argos satellite system. The array is a major component of the El Ni'o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Observing System, the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). Support is provided primarily by the United States (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and Japan (Japan Agency for Marine-earth Science and Technology) with additional contributions from France (Institute de recherch pour le development). Capability Statement Objectives and Requirements: This request is issued for the purpose of exchanging information to improve the understanding of industry capabilities, thereby allowing potential offerors to judge whether or how they can satisfy the Government's requirements, and enhancing the Government's ability to obtain these buoys, at reasonable cost and price, and increase efficiency in proposal preparation, proposal evaluation, negotiation, and contract award. Companies having capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to provide information to contribute to this market survey/sources sought notice including commercial market information and company information. The NOAA- NWS, NDBC is seeking the following information: a. Name of Company, Address and DUNS Number or CAGE Code; b. Point of Contact and Phone Number; c. A statement regarding current size of the company under the North American Classification System Code (NAICS), 325211, Plastic Material and Resin Manufacturing, which has a corresponding size standard of 750 employees. The applicable NAICS code of 325211 must be included in the vendor's NAICS listing within the System for Award Management (SAM) for NOAA to verify your size status; d. Type of End Product (i.e., Domestic End Product, Foreign End Product, or Other) and Origin; e. Commercial market information and practices applicable to this supply; f. Confirm that your company can provide all of the supplies listed in the Statement of Work/Design Specification, ATLAS Buoy Removable Insert (3 pages), dated February 2, 2006; pC02 3 Point Toroid Buoy, (13 Pages), dated January 2005 and TAO Buoy Hull Assembly (Drawing #TAO-001102 revC - 3 pages), dated February 6, 2011. g. A positive statement of your intent to submit an offer as a prime contractor if a solicitation is issued as a result of this Sources Sought Notice. Responses to this Sources Sought are due via e-mail to contact@example.gov no later than January 26, 2015 at 4:00 p.m (Central Time). Provide all responses in MSWord 2000 (or later version) or Adobe .pdf. Only electronic submissions will be allowed. Point of Contact is Kurt Weilbaecher, Contract Specialist at +1 (555) 000-0000 or contact@example.gov. Alternate point of contact is Andrew Hildebrandt, Contracting Officer, at +1 (555) 000-0000 or contact@example.gov. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this Sources Sought Notice. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. At this time no solicitation exists; therefore, DO NOT REQUEST A COPY OF THE SOLICITATION. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation notice and solicitation may be published on Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor FedBizOpps for release of any future solicitation that may result from this Sources Sought Notice. However, responses to this Sources Sought Notice will not be considered adequate responses to any resultant solicitation.