This Sources Sought Notice is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an invitation for bid, request for quotation, request for proposal, or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. Your response to this Sources Sought Notice will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise because of contractor submission of responses to this announcement or the Government use of such information. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort. The information provided may be used by the Department of Veterans Affairs in developing its acquisition approach, statement of work/statement of objectives and performance specifications. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this Sources Sought Notice or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this Sources Sought Notice. The purpose of this sources sought announcement is for market research to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of potential qualified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Veteran Owned Small Businesses, 8(a), HubZone and other Small Businesses interested and capable of providing the services described below. Documentation of technical expertise must be presented in sufficient detail for the Government to determine that your company possesses the necessary functional area expertise and experience to compete for this acquisition. Responses to this notice shall include the following: (a) company name (b) address (c) point of contact (d) phone, fax, and email (e) DUNS number (f) Cage Code (g) Tax ID Number (h) Type of small business, e.g. Services Disabled Veteran Owned small Business, Veteran-owned small business, 8(a), HUBZone, Women Owned Small Business, Small disadvantaged business, or Small Business HUBZone business and (i) must provide a capability statement that addresses the organizations qualifications and ability to perform as a contractor for the work described below: Required Specification of brand name Frozen Section Cryostat HM525NX or equal: Ergonomic/Safety features Mechanical handwheel lock Optional UV disinfection Automatic specimen retraction on return stroke Touch screen operation with intuitive software to accommodate multiple users Cryochamber features Chamber cooling to -35°C 27 cryobar storage positions including 4 quick freeze locations Integrated peltier fast freezing device rapidly cools to -57°C±3°C Programmable and immediate defrost options Microtome features Manual light touch rotary flywheel Section thickness from 1 m to 500 m Memory function for rapid advance and specimen positioning Vertical stroke length of 60mm 28mm horizontal feed range 40++m specimen retraction on return stroke XY specimen orientation with 360° z axis rotation Important information: The Government is not obligated to, nor will it pay for or reimburse any costs associated with responding to this source sought synopsis request. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to an acquisition approach. The Government will in no way be bound to this information if any solicitation is issued. Currently a total set-aside for Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firms is anticipated based on the Veterans Administration requirement with Public Law 109-461, Section 8127 Veterans Benefit Act. However, if response by Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firms proves inadequate, an alternate set-aside or full and open. Any response to this source selection from Interested parties must be received NLT 02/09/2023, 1200 PM CST. Attention: Michael Murphy, Contracting Specialist. Email:
[email protected] Please reference 36C255-23-Q-0148 in the subject line. Please provide your Unique Entity ID so that your organization can be identified in SAM.GOV and VetBiz if organization is claiming SDVOSB preference. Only organizations with an active SAM.GOV account can be considered. Utilize this link to either start a new registration or to renew the organization s registration. https://sam.gov/content/home