66 -- Rapid Visco Analyzer

The USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Grain Marketing & Production Research Center, Manhattan, Kansas, intends to enter into a single source contract with Perten Instruments, Inc., Springfield, Illinois, for the purchase of a Newport Scientific RVA Super 4 Rapid Visco Analyzer to test flour/starch pasting property according to AACC Method 76-21. This equipment meets the following requirements: 1. Small sample size, less than 4 g; 2. Automated testing cycles (stirring/heating/cooling, temperature 0 - 99.9 C); 3. Testing profiles (time, stirring speed, and temperature) easily set; and 4. Test results within a short time, less than 20 minutes. The Newport Scientific RVA Super 4 Rapid Visco Analyzer is covered by seven patents. Perten Instruments, Inc. is the only distributor in the United States for this equipment. *Provide Qualification Statement by Close of Business August 10, 2007, if interested in this procurement.