Notice of intent to sole source to Malvern

SAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Special Notice of Intent

CLASSIFICATION CODE: J Maintenance, Repair, Rebuild

SUBJECT: Service Contract for Malvern Panalytical Epsilon 1 X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer

CONTACT POINT: Brian Jamieson, Contract Specialist (301) 975-8276

DESCRIPTION: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis, under authority of Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) 12.202(a), with Malvern, Inc., of Westborough, MA for an annual preventive maintenance contract for NIST’s existing Malvern Panalytical Epsilon 1 X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer. The equipment is utilized by the NIST Engineering Laboratory (EL), in Gaithersburg, MD.

***** Sole source determination is based on the need to acquire a preventative maintenance service contract for the existing Malvern equipment, which is only available through Malvern’s service organization. NIST requires routine preventative maintenance as well as on-site repairs of broken equipment as needed for an owned Malvern X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer. This system is proprietary to its original equipment manufacturer, Malvern. As the equipment is proprietary to Malvern, all maintenance and repairs must be performed by field service engineers who are certified by Malvern. Malvern is the only company capable of performing these services with Malvern-certified field service engineers; there are no other contractors that are authorized to provide the required services for NIST's Malvern systems. Use of any other contractor would jeopardize system functionality and on-going research activities. Accordingly, Malvern is the only contractor capable of providing the required services.

To ensure continuity of research efforts in the NIST laboratories, it is vital the instrument and its accessories are maintained at full operational performance. Unauthorized service providers may provide components incompatible with the existing Malvern equipment which would cause interruptions in...