This is a Request for Information/Sources Sought notice to solicit comments, questions and feedback from industry regarding a planned procurement of a purchase cable design with excellent bending fatigue life while being able to withstand the naval environment, extreme operating conditions, and resist abrasion from the carrier deck. The Navy uses purchase cable (wire rope) as the means of arresting aircraft aboard aircraft carriers. A length of wire rope is reeved through an arresting engine below deck and translates aircraft's kinetic energy into stored energy. SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS: NAWCAD Lakehurst is requesting vendor sources with the capability of producing wire ropes in accordance with the following: Diameter Size 1.375" ≤ Dia ≤ 1.4375" Min Breaking Strength (Tension) ≥ 210,000 lbf Weight ≤ 3.79 lb/ft. The cable will be subject to the aircraft carrier environment: all weather types with a wide temperature range, as well as aircraft exhaust and fluids. Particular attention should be made to the following: 1. Abrasion Resistance: This is caused by cable drag during an arrestment and subsequent retraction on the carrier deck non-skid surface. 2. Bending Fatigue: The arresting engine employs aluminum sheaves with 0.775 inch throat radii, and pitch diameters ranging from 28 to 33 inch with varying wrap angles, the greatest being 180 degrees. 3. Operating Tension: The wire rope is frequently subjected to loads in excess of 40% breaking strength. Purchase cables are designated NAVAIR Critical Safety Items (CSI) and require strict quality control. Eligible and interested parties may submit multiple candidate designs that may meet or exceed the requested salient characteristics. A synopsis of the trade-offs between bend over sheave fatigue life and abrasion resistance for the candidate designs is desirable. THIS RFI IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. It is a market research tool being used to determine potential and eligible vendors capable of providing services described herein prior to determining the method of acquisition and issuance of a Request for Proposal. The Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of this notice. ELIGIBILITY: The PSC for this requirement is 4010; the NAICS is 332618. All interested businesses are encouraged to respond. SUBMITTAL INFORMATION: It is requested that interested businesses submit to the contracting office a brief capabilities statement package (no more than 10 pages in length, single spaced, 12 point font minimum) demonstrating ability to meet the requirements outlined above. This documentation must address, at a minimum, the following: 1. Company Contact Information to include: Company Name, Company Address, Cage Code, Company Business Size, and Point-of-Contact (POC) name, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address. 2. Company Profile to include: Number of employees and DUNS number; 3. Company Description 4. Provide cable design and manufacturing capabilities including relevant history of designing and manufacturing similar cables. If providing specific cable design(s) include its specific application and part number and discuss if it has been offered as a commercial item. 5. Provide details on the quality assurance system in place If you are a small business, provide an explanation of your company's ability to perform at least 50% of the tasking described in the specifications. All interested parties must submit written responses, preferably via electronic mail. The Navy does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this request or otherwise pay for the information solicited. While the Navy intends to use this information for future acquisition planning purposes, it will not release any information about your approach that might in any way compromise your competitive posture or proprietary information. The Navy will not use any information provided to level your company's approach relative to another competitor. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked PROPRIETARY will be handled accordingly. The Navy will not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Navy regulations. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. Respondents will not be notified of the result of the review. Failure to respond to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future associated RFP/RFQ that may be issued. Information provided in no way binds the Navy to solicit or award a contract. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website: www.fbo.gov. It is the potential vendor's responsibility to monitor this site for the release. Technical questions and industry responses to this RFI shall be submitted via email no later than 4:00PM EST 10 July 2017 to Ms. Sarah Lowell, Contracts POC, at
[email protected].