On behalf of the U.S. AbilityOne Commission (operating name of the Committee for Purchase from People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled), the independent federal agency that administers the AbilityOne Program, National Industries for the Blind (NIB), a designated central nonprofit agency, is pursuing potential partnerships with TAA compliant commercial manufacturers of professional grade long handled cutting tools such as bolt cutters and steel strapping cutters, suitable for use by federal government agencies. If successful, the result will be a co-brand agreement between the manufacturer of component parts and the AbilityOne Program, and its registered brands. The ultimate expectation is that the co-branded product will be placed on the AbilityOne Procurement List (PL). These long handled cutters must meet and/or exceed FAR and other Federal Government published standards, Executive Orders and Federal Agency requirements. To be considered for the partner opportunity, the following criteria at a minimum must be met by the commercial manufacturer: 1. Possession of a recognized regional or national brand name within the cutter tool industry. 2. Manufacturer must make all component parts in a TAA compliant country, preferably in the USA 3. Manufacturer must have state of the art metal forging capabilities. 4. Manufacturer must have extensive experience in making industrial cutting tools (wire, metal, bolt, and cable cutting hand tools). 5. Product Specific Criteria: • Must meet all federal safety requirements. • Cutters are made from hardened tool steel and most tools have rubber hand grips • Most cutters have dual lever steel handles. • Most cutters have replaceable jaws. • Each cutter must meet the federal technical specs listed in the GSA IPD for that NSN • Bolt cutters must be Class 3: Clipper cut (close cutting) • Bolt Cutters must be made in accordance with Commercial Item Description A-A-3047 6. The chosen manufacturer must be willing to set a high priority for delivering bulk materials to the non-profit agency in order to assure the agency of on-time deliveries to the federal government customers. 7. All products must be manufactured and lab tested, certified and customer tested to be effective according to their purpose, have current Material Safety Data sheets if necessary, and meet certifications with corresponding documentation designated by customers. 8. Must have a willingness to enter into a multi-year agreement, which includes on-going technical and production assistance and the necessary factory trained technical field support, while enabling the non-profit agency to maximize the labor provided by the AbilityOne Program. These criteria include: converting material, manufacturing goods, assembling, labeling, and packaging products sold to the federal government, thereby creating employment for people who are blind or deaf/blind. 9. A willingness to share supplier access and volume pricing agreements with the non-profit agency. 10. Commitment to working independently with AbilityOne to market products to the Government customers under the AbilityOne Program. 11. Willingness to work with the non-profit agency, (NIB) and the U.S. AbilityOne Commission to ensure that the price to the end-user is a fair and reasonable price. 12. Manufacturers' submissions must demonstrate that proposed products meet the various criteria, as well as each responding manufacturer must indicate what labor functions the nonprofit agency's employees would perform. The deadline for response is March 23, 2015. The WRITTEN, ELECTRONIC, response should be directed to the contact listed in this Notice. Questions should be directed, in writing by email, to Michelle Grant at
[email protected]. The e-mail's subject line should begin with Question: Sources Sought CP-02-20-15-01, Long Handled Cutting Tools.