BPA Call 12FPC121A0014-12FPC123F0102

CEM Corporation, a small business manufacturer of advanced analytical laboratory equipment headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina, was awarded a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) call valued at $5,315.40 under BPA 12FPC121A0014 for customer care plan service contracts for two MARS 6 microwave digestion systems at the Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory Branch. The award was issued by the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a civilian agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, on April 28, 2023, with a completion date of September 12, 2025. The contract utilized firm fixed-price pricing with no small business set-aside designation. This BPA call was issued under CEM Corporation's broader Blanket Purchase Agreement with NRCS, which carries a total ceiling value of $26,000 and covers customer care plans for microwave digestion systems, enabling the issuance of multiple task order contracts for maintenance and support services.

The award was subsequently de-obligated after the customer decided not to exercise the option, resulting in the contract not proceeding to completion. CEM Corporation, a subsidiary of CEM Holdings Corporation, regularly provides laboratory equipment and support services to federal agencies including the USDA, EPA, FDA, and NIH through its General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule contract. The MARS 6 microwave systems supplied to the Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory Branch—part of NRCS's soil science and mapping operations—represent the type of specialized analytical instrumentation that supports the agency's agricultural research and natural resource conservation missions.