99 -- Agency Announcement

AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT INTENT: Federal Prison Industries, Inc (FPI) is seeking proposals for new products and/or service arrangements that would be sold to federal agencies and produced by FPI in alliance with the successful offerors. FPI may also provide certain services to the private sector. FPI is interested in entering into business agreements with private sector firms to produce any of a variety of products and/or services, using federal facilities and federal inmate labor. Description of Federal Prison Industries: Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI), which operates under the trade name UNICOR, is a wholly-owned Government Corporation within the Department of Justice, under the Federal Prison system. The Corporation was created by Congress in 1934, and provides employment, education, and training opportunities to inmates under federal custody. FPI operates more than 102 factories at 71 locations. FPI's product lines are extensive and include over 175 separate products and services sold to federal agencies, such as Electronics, Office Furniture, Clothing and Textiles and Metal products. FPI is also a service provider, to include call centers, recycling center and distribution centers to the private sector. FPI's mission is to employ and provide training to the greatest practicable number of inmates in federal correctional facilities. FPI employs a large number of inmates to ensure the safe and secure operation of such institutions. FPI must be market competitive in terms of price, quality and delivery. FPI operates in a self-sustaining manner while minimizing potential negative impact on private sector business and labor. The inmates benefit from industrial education, as well as earning wages. Employment of inmates by FPI substantially reduces recidivism. Strategic Business Development Program: Federal Prison Industries currently has business agreements with private sector firms to provide products and services to the Federal Government, as well as services to the private sector. For some business agreements, FPI provides fully equipped and staffed factories and manufactures products and provides services as turn-key operations for its private sector partners. For other agreements, FPI simply provides inmate labor and the physical factory space for industrial operations or service. For a more detailed description of FPI and its operations, or to look at a sample business agreement, please visit http://www.unicor.gov/fpi_contracting/. Miscellaneous: FPI reserves the right to accept or reject proposals received. This notice fulfills FAR Part 5 publication requirements for individual proposals received and meets CICA requirements. Therefore, the intent is to enter into negotiations and/or to contract for new products and services in response to this announcement, and may not be published on Fed Biz Ops. For a sample joint venture agreement, profile of FPI's human resources, available physical facilities and equipment, and schedule of current projects and services, please visit our website at http://www.unicor.gov/fpi_contracting/. Submit offers to: Cory Wheeland, Program Manager, Federal Prison Industries, Inc., 320 First Street NW, Building 400, 7th Floor, Washington DC 20534. Telephone 202-305-3770, Facsimile 202-305-7365, E-mail: [email protected].