This Sources Sought Notice is being published for the purpose of conducting Market Research to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. This is not a solicitation. All costs associated with providing information, as requested by this Sources Sought Notice, shall be the responsibility of the submitter. Submission is voluntary. This requirement is for: To be considered technically acceptable, vendors shall meet or exceed the following Brand Name Salient Characteristics. • Background. The Geology, Geochemistry, and Geophysics Science Center, Mineral Resources Program of the U.S. Geological Survey, has a need to purchase a maintenance contract for the Thermo Niton Handheld X-ray Fluorescence Analyzer XL3t 950 GOLDD+ SN: 57589, enabling elemental analysis of rocks both in the lab and in the field. The instrument is used for daily work except when it is issued for emergency response. This instrument is critical to our research in identifying strategic minerals and critical elements for the mining sector. B. Brand Name Salient Features (Based on Thermo Niton Advanced Plus Plan for XL3t 950 GolDD+ Analyzers): 1. Original Thermo Niton parts must be used. 2. Service contract will begin on May 21, 2018 and end on May 20, 2019. 3. Service contract will have options for 4 additional years 4. Calibration must be performed at an approved Thermo Niton facility and use Thermo Niton calibration materials. 5. All calibrations must be original Thermo Niton performance response calibrations for Mining Mode, Soil Mode, and TestAllGeo mode. 6. Service engineers must be approved by Thermo Niton 7. Service Care a. Certified loaner instrument provided within 3 days of receipt of our unit at the repair facility. The loaner equipment will be shipped to the repair center awardee after the USGS has evaluated and confirmed the performance of the serviced analyzer within 3 days after of receipt of serviced unit. i. The USGS will not be responsible for damage to the Loaner unit except for damage caused by handling beyond the normal wear and tear of everyday use. For example, excessive damage includes dropping the instrument, puncturing the x-ray tube aperture, etc. 8. All parts and labor included. Service Plan include all Thermo Niton Tier 1, 2, and 3 repairs. 9. Updates of software included. The repair center awardee can provide software updates by email or other storage media, if the update can be completed by computer uploads to the analyzer by the USGS. Some firmware upgrades can only be completed by the repair center awardee and will be completed at the repair center. 10. The USGS will pay shipping costs of equipment shipped to the repair center awardee and the repair center awardee will pay shipping costs of equipment shipped to the USGS. 11. The repair center awardee will provide unlimited telephone support to evaluate equipment performance. 12. The service will also include a full factory recalibration and certification within the year from the date of plan purchase. Interested firms who feel that they can provide the Thermo Niton Advanced Plus Plan for XL3t 950 GolDD+ Analyzers based upon the criteria specified herein, are invited to submit in writing an affirmative response to this announcement. An affirmative response must include references with contact names, email address, and phone numbers. These references are to be for contracts similar in scope as the contract under consideration. This information will be evaluated and used to determine if competitive opportunities exist. All responses must be submitted NLT 03/29/2018 at 1 pm MST via e-mail to:
[email protected]. This is NOT a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Invitation for Bid (IFB) and does not constitute any commitment by the Government. Responses to this sources sought notice will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. All interested sources must respond to future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market survey. Any solicitation that may be issued will be posted on the Federal Business Opportunities (Fedbizopps.gov) website and no paper copies will be provided.