SOIL SAMPLE BAGS

THE PURPOSE OF THIS AMENDMENT IS TO ADD SHIPMENT DIMENSIONS: BAGS SHALL BE SHIPPED ON 41 INCH WIDTH BY 41 INCH DEPTH PALLETS, WITH THE TOTAL HEIGHT, INCLUDING THE PALLET, NOT TO EXCEED 55 INCHES. BAGS ON THE PALLET SHALL BE IN BUNDLES OF 200. ALL OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS REMAIN THE SAME. RESPONSE DATE IS UNCHANGED. i. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial supplies prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition (FAR) 12.6, and supplemental information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This combined synopsis/solicitation will result in a firm fixed price commercial supplies purchase order. ii. Simplified procurement procedures will be used for this acquisition per Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13. This requirement is one hundred percent set aside for small business. The NAICS code is 322299. The small business size standard is 500 employees, or less. iii. This requirement is for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine, 2281 West Heyrend Way, Idaho Falls, Idaho. iv. The solicitation number for this effort is 08_187458 and this combined synopsis/solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ.) v. The provisions and clauses incorporated by reference have the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. The full text of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) may be accessed on the Internet at http://farsite.hill.af.mil/ vi. REQUIREMENTS AND QUANTITIES: This requirement consists of one line item: CLIN 01 - 200,000 bags for soil samples. SPECIFICATIONS: The bags shall be constructed for storing damp or dry soil samples for a minimum of three (3) weeks under conditions of extraordinary usage in filling, handling, and storage. These soil sample bags shall contain soil which may contain quarantined microscopic organisms. Leaking or sifting from the bags cannot be allowed as it may cause cross contamination of an area. The paper bags shall be SOS Kraft, automatic style, duplex. Bag size 8 inches x 4.5 inches x 10.5 inches, and shall be manufactured from 1 percent water strength paper. CONSTRUCTION: 1/60NKWS, 1/60NK. PRINT: none. CRITICAL ELEMENT: The bottom seam shall be constructed and glued to prevent leakage and sifting of soil particles. Deliveries shall be FOB destination within consignee premises: 2281 West Heyrend Way, Idaho Falls, ID 83402. Contractor shall call USDA 24 hours in advance before delivering bags. Total quantity of 200,000 bags may be delivered all at once or in 25,000 bag quantities or greater, if this would speed the shipment to destination The contractor shall supply the quantity of line items listed above, and in accordance with the technical specifications outlined in this combined synopsis/solicitation. vii. In accordance with FAR 52.216-27, this request for quote may result in multiple contract awards and in any combination of line items. The Government reserves the right to award any combination of line items and may award multiple line items to the same offeror, and will make award decisions based on the most advantageous offer to the Government. viii. The offerors price must include shipping to the FOB destination, Idaho Falls, ID. ix. The provision at 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-commercial applies to this solicitation x. The provision 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items apples to this solicitation; Award will be made to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to this combined synopsis/solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. A trade off process will be used to evaluate quotes. The Government intends to evaluate offers and award without discussion, however, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions later if determined necessary by the Contracting Officer. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: Technical capability: Past performance, send list of references with quote; and Price. Technical and past performance, when combined are approximately equal to price. Past performance is a measure of the degree to which an offeror has satisfied customers in the past, and complied with federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The assessment will consider the firms record of conforming to specifications and to standards of good workmanship, customer service, and adherence to contract schedules, terms and conditions. In accordance with FAR 52.212-1 (b) (10) regarding past performance, references are requested. Each offeror must submit three references which are either current or recent customers. xi. The provisions 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items applies to this solicitation. The contractor shall either complete the online Offeror Representations and Certifications at www.bpn.gov or return a completed copy of the Offer Representations and Certifications with their quotation. A hard copy of the provision may be attained from http://www.arnet.gov/far xii. The clause at 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. xiii. The clause at 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders are considered checked and are applicable to this acquisition: 52.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, Alternate I; 52.219-6 Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside; 52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns; 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting; 52.222-3 Convict Labor; 52.222-19 Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies; 52.2222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35 Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.22-37 Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; 52.225-1 Buy American Act-Supplies; 52.225-13 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases ; 52.323-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer Central Contractor Registration (CCR) xiv. To be awarded this contract, the offeror must be registered in the CCR. CCR information may be found at http://www.ccr.gov xv. QUOTATIONS ARE DUE the United States Department of Agriculture, Minneapolis Contracting Officer, 100 North 6 th Street, Butler Square 5 th Floor, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403 by 1:00 PM CST, JULY 24, 2008. Quotes may be sent via e-mail to [email protected] , by fax to 612 370 2136 or via mail to the above address. xvi. The point of contact for this synopsis solicitation is Joanne Mann who may be reached at [email protected] , or by phone at 612 336 3224. xvii. A COMPLETE QUOTE WILL CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING: 1) Price for each line item, CLINS 01, which provides the price per unit. 2) Signature of the offeror on the page which lists the price. 3) A detailed narrative address how the supply meets the requirements/specifications outlined in this combined synopsis/solicitation. Quotes should be of sufficient detail to determine their adequacy. 4) References as requested above 5) A completed copy of the provisions at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items OR confirmation that this has been completed online. If an offerors quote does not contain all of the items listed above, the quote may be considered incomplete for evaluation purposes and no further consideration will be given to the offerors quote, thereby making an offeror ineligible for award.