Sources-Sought Notice Background: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Program seeks a small, twin-screw extruder for use in a laboratory setting at Otis Joint Base Cape Cod, MA. It will be used in support of the development of an artificial diet for the invasive tree pest Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus planipennis (EAB) . Development of an artificial diet is a critical step in allowing the EAB biocontrol program to meet their insect rearing goals year around and remove the dependency on natural food sources that are difficult to obtain in the winter months. The EAB artificial diet appears to be most suitable when it is thin, dry, and tough in texture, simulating the inner bark of an ash tree where EAB typically feeds. Studies demonstrated that EAB larvae die or develop poorly with a diet containing more than 55% moisture, and that the optimal moisture content for rearing EAB larvae is 48 – 50%. Microbial growth is inhibited at such a low level of moisture. Despite many attempts, PPQ has not been able to roll out or press low-moisture diet into a thin sheet with a leathery texture, which our research predicts are the most suitable properties for rearing EAB larvae. The twin-screw extruder must be capable of mixing and extruding tough, dough-like products into a variety of forms and textures, critical for EAB diet production. In addition to controlling moisture level and texture, the extruder must enable manipulation of nutrients and bulking agents in the diet for research purposes and produce it at the desired moisture level. The extruder must also be capable of producing a specialized diet for the adults in sheets less than one mm thick, simulating the form of their natural ash-leaf food, and allow operation by a single person. The twin-screw extruder must: Allow production of a low-moisture diet at the smaller, non-commercial-scale quantities required for research and development; Have customizable steel, co-rotating screw shafts. This is critical for developing and producing the diet required by our program as they allow for mixing, kneading, and extruding a variety of products, including stiff dough-like foodstuffs into many forms and textures. Allow for the manipulation of nutrients and bulking agents. The unit’s capacity must be sufficiently small enough to support research and methods development, yet also be capable of processing large enough quantities of diet for large-scale trials in an insect rearing facility. If your extruder meets these requirements, please submit documentation demonstrating this to
[email protected] by noon central time on Thursday, June 18. Include your DUNS number and whether you are a large business or small business, including any relevant socio-economic category. Also provide: company name, address, email address, web site address, and telephone number. The NAICS code is 333241, with a small business size standard of 500 employees. There is no solicitation at this time. This request for information does not constitute a request for proposals. Submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary. The government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. Responses to this sources-sought notice/market research will help the contracting officer decide on an acquisition strategy. No feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.