Active

Contract Opportunity

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Cold Regions Research Laboratory (CRREL) intends to award a contract on a sole source basis Jon’s Machine Shop upon the basis of the authority provided at FAR 13.106-1(b).

ERDC-CRREL intends to procure one (1) John Holmgren Snow, Ice, and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE) Hand Auger Kit, additional Jon Holmgren SIPRE auger hardware to augment CRREL’s existing hardware of the same brand and retooling to repair existing Jon Holmgren SIPRE auger bits. These augers will be used to collect permafrost and ice cores.

Requirement: The kit, auger hardware, and retooling must adhere to the following specifications:

• One (1) complete Jon Holmgren SIPRE soil augering kit without the powerhead to be used for cold regions permafrost and ice coring:
  
  
  
  • Max. Practical Depth: 6m
  
  
  • Hole Diameter: 120mm (4.7 inches)
  
  
  • Core Diameter: 76mm (3 inches)
  
  
  • Core Length: 1m
  
  
  • Weight: 85lbs for 6-meter kit
  
  
  • Material: Stainless Steel
  
  
  • Interoperability: must be 100% interoperable with CRREL’s existing Jon Holmgren SIPRE soil augers, bits, and powerheads
  
  
  
  

• Thirty (30) Jon Holmgren SIPRE Carbide bits:
  
  
  
  • Interoperability: must be 100% interoperable with CRREL’s existing Jon Holmgren SIPRE Soil Augers
  
  
  
  

• The vendor shall receive from CRREL twelve (12) used, dull Jon Holmgren SIPRE auger bits, and shall recarbide the bits, and return the bits to CRREL in sharpened, field ready condition.

Jon’s Machine Shop has been identified as the only source capable of fulfilling the Government’s requirement. SIPRE augers are a commercially available products however, CRREL is requesting specially modified SIPRE augers and hardware that was developed by Jon Holmgren, owner of Jon’s Machine Shop, which tailored the original SIPRE design to be specific to his company. These adjustments include, for example, minor tailoring of the barrels and bits. Specifically, the precise threading and machining of holes in the bits is extremely important to the overall functionality of the auger. Auger parts from any other source (outside of Jon’s Machine Shop) will not be interchangeable with his products nor CRREL’s existing SIPRE augers and is likely to fail if somehow another company’s part is “jammed” onto this hardware because Jon’s Machine Shop’s bits are machined extremely precisely to work with its own augers according to Mr. Holmgren’s modified SIPRE design (specific only to his products). Due to the unique nature of the requested specialized custom designed equipment that will enable researchers to conduct non-intrusive subsurface surveys of extreme cold sea ice, Jon’s Machine Shop is deemed the only provider reasonably capable of fulfilling the Government's requirements.

This Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive quotations. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement. Any interested party that believes they can fulfill this requirement should submit a capability statement to be reviewed. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will in any way alter the Government's acquisition strategy.

Responses to this notice shall be submitted NLT 12:00 PM CDT, 22 November 2023 to Kim.D.Roberson@usace.army.mil

Telephone responses will not be accepted.

Responses to this notice will not be considered as a response to any solicitation, a request to be added to a prospective offerors list, or to receive a copy of any solicitation. A determination by the Government not to compete the contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

Note: In order to be eligible for award of a Government contract, vendors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), have no active exclusions, and complete the FAR and DFARS representations and certifications.

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