Introduction: Pursuant to FAR Subpart 13.106-1(b)(1), the U.S. Army RDECOM Contracting Center, Natick Contracting Division, on behalf of the US Army WARSTAR directorate, intends to award a firm fixed price purchase order on a sole source basis to: Catherine Capone, 200 Red Acre Road, Stow, MA 01775. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE. RESPONSES WILL BE USED FOR FUTURE ACQUISITIONS ONLY. 1. Nature and description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs: The contractor shall be performing tests to characterize the flammability properties of various materials in support of several programs. Primary responsibility will be to run the Pyrolysis Combustion Flow Calorimeter (PCFC) and the Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) Chamber; however, the contractor may be required to conduct other testing on the Thermal Barrier Test Apparatus (TBTA) or Vertical Flame Chamber depending on demand and priorities determined by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). 2. A demonstration that the proposed contractor is the only source available to provide these services or goods (i.e. unique qualifications, proprietary rights, etc.): Ms, Catherine Capone is uniquely qualified to conduct the proposed work. She has been responsible for all testing conducted to date on the PCFC which Natick acquired in 2007. She has worked with the mfg representatives both in England and the US as well as the FAA (Inventors) to develop techniques and procedures to determine the flammability characteristics of materials using this highly specialized piece of equipment. Natick is one of the few laboratories able to conduct this testing. The PCFC (also referred to as the Microscale Combustion Calorimeter (MCC)) Is a state-of the-art piece of equipment used to analyze the combustion properties of a material on a milligram scale, This technology, which was previously unavailable, is being correlated to larger scale equipment which has been available for years and has proven to be an accurate tool for predicting the response of materials In a larger scale scenario, Ms, Capone's has a master's degree in chemistry from Leigh and was a former chemistry teacher which contributes to analyzing the data generated from the PCFC and reporting the data In a format that is easily understood by project officers, 3. A description of the market research that was conducted and the results, or a statement of the reason a market research was not conducted: No formal market research was conducted, as Ms. Capone has worked on previous NSRDEC contracts. She worked summers from 1989 -1995 while a school teacher and then came back in 2005 after retiring to work on the flow calorimeter, particle analyzer and more recently the PCFC. She has been an author/coauthor on several papers and reports while here at NSRDEC. 4. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition: This research is required to support on-going NSRDEC projects in flame resistant technologies. Highly qualified contractor support is required In order to meet program milestones. The Government currently does not have the in-house capability to perform these specialized tests. 5. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required: This Government Is assessing in-house capabilities and anticipates bringing this specialized expertise on site in the future. 6. Interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement to the U.S. Army RDECOM Contracting Center, Natick Contracting Division via e-mail to:
[email protected] no later than 12:00 Noon (EST) on October 31, 2010. Contracting Office Address: RDECOM Contracting Center - Natick CCRD-NA-SY, Natick Contracting Division Kansas Street, Building 1 Natick, MA 01760-5011 Point of Contact: Jeffrey Bernard, Contract Specialist (508)-233-6105
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