Notice of Intent to Sole Source

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE-SOURCE PURCHASE ORDER

Army Contracting Command–Aberdeen Proving Ground, Tobyhanna Division, intends to award a sole-source purchase order to Haun Welding Supply, Inc. for the uninterrupted supply and delivery of commercial industrial and liquid gases and associated cylinder maintenance, inspection, testing, and repair services in support of depot manufacturing, electronics testing, and radar overhaul operations at Tobyhanna Army Depot. The requirement includes the delivery of twelve commercial industrial and liquid gas products, including liquid argon, nitrogen, oxygen, and specialized shielding-gas mixtures. The contractor shall provide all supervision, labor, equipment, materials, delivery support, and recurring services necessary to support the requirement. The contractor shall also perform periodic inspection, testing, maintenance, and repair of five Government-owned, non-serialized, low-pressure cylinders. The Government intends to acquire the required commercial products and services under RFO FAR Part 12, including the simplified procedures in RFO FAR 12.201-1. The basis for limiting the source is RFO FAR 12.102(a), under which only one source is currently known to be available to meet the Government’s requirement. Haun Welding Supply, Inc. currently supports the gas-delivery manifold connections, specialized fill couplers, and tank telemetry systems used for industrial-gas delivery at Tobyhanna Army Depot. Transition to another provider would require coordination with the existing gas-delivery infrastructure, site inspections, equipment-compatibility verification, and validation of safe delivery procedures before performance could begin. The requirement also includes five Army-owned, non-serialized, low-pressure cylinders that require off-site liquid-temperature refilling. The Government requires safe handling, transportation, tracking, refilling, and return of these cylinders to maintain accountability for Army property and to prevent commingling or unauthorized exchange of Government cylinders. The Government requires a 24-hour emergency response capability to support uninterrupted delivery of required industrial gases, including liquid argon, which is subject to boil-off during storage and transport. Transition to another supplier would require site safety inspections, installation-access coordination, delivery-vehicle access processing, and validation of delivery procedures. The Government estimates that these actions could result in a 60-to-90-day interruption in shielding-gas delivery. An interruption in shielding-gas delivery would adversely affect active depot manufacturing, electronics testing, microelectronics assembly, and radar-system overhaul operations at Tobyhanna Army Depot. Accordingly, Haun Welding Supply, Inc. is the only known source reasonably available to satisfy the Government’s immediate requirement without an unacceptable interruption in critical industrial-gas support.