20 -- Plastic Buoys

THIS IS A 100 percent SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE. The NAICS CODE IS326199. The small business size standard is 500 employees. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has a requirement for fabrication of fifth class foam filled, unlighted plastic buoys. These buoys will be used in the navigable waters of the United States. The buoy shell shall be manufactured from medium density polyethylene using the rotational molding process. All polyethylene used shall be composed of 100 percent virgin material meeting the requirements of ASTM D4976, Group 2, Class 2, Grade 3. Color pigments shall be added to the medium density polyethylene plastic. The color shall be uniform throughout the thickness of the plastic and it shall conform to the Federal Color Numbers contained in FED-STD-595B: 11350 (red), 14193 (green), and 27875 (white). The interior of the buoys shall contain polyurethane foam, a radar reflector and a counterweight of steel shot which shall conform to the size standards of SAE J-444. First article testing and approval will be required. The estimated annual requirements are 300 5CPR and 200 5NPR buoys. The resulting contract will be a five year Requirements contract. The Solicitation will be an Invitation for Bids (IFB). It is anticipated that the IFB will be posted on the Electronic Posting System (EPS) in late May 2002 with sealed bids due 30 days after issuance of the IFB. All questions relating to this solicitation must be in writing and must be received by the date set in the solicitation. All interested small businesses must download the solicitation and subsequent Amendments from this website. All amendments to the solicitation will be posted on this website. For informational purposes: Minority, Women-owned, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, the Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), has a program to assist minority, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises to acquire short-term working capital assistance for transportation ?related contracts. Loans are available under the DOT Short Term Lending Program (STLP) at prime rates to provide accounts receivable financing. The maximum line of credit is $500,000.00. For further information and applicable forms concerning STLP, call the OSDBU at (800) 532-1169. All responsible small businesses may submit an offer which will be considered by the agency.