NIGP 97965: Refrigeration Equipment and Accessory Rental or Lease

NIGP 97965 Refrigeration Equipment and Accessory Rental or Lease, an Item code, covers short- and long-term rental of refrigerated storage units and related services as state and local governments procure them today. Recent solicitations show state and local buyers renting portable reefer trailers for food storage at correctional facilities, portable refrigerated containers for forensic evidence preservation, chiller units for university operations, and ice machines at transportation and school district facilities. The issuing bodies span state departments of corrections and transportation, city governments, public universities, and independent school districts. Multiple Illinois Department of Corrections facilities—Big Muddy River Correctional Center, Stateville Correctional Center, and Pontiac Correctional Center—appear repeatedly as reefer trailer renters addressing inoperable freezers or emergency food storage needs; the City of Austin has solicited portable medical refrigerators for DNA evidence storage; Texas A&M University has sought chiller rental; and the Texas Department of Transportation has solicited ice machine rental across multiple highway districts.

Geographic activity concentrates in Illinois (Department of Corrections and state facilities) and Texas (TxDOT districts, school districts, and universities), with secondary activity in Mississippi (Coast Electric Power Association disaster logistics) and other states. Representative recent opportunities include Big Muddy River Correctional Center's small-business-set-aside procurement for a 53-foot reefer trailer on a 12-month term due July 20, 2026 (RFQ); Pontiac Correctional Center's small-business-set-aside rental of a reefer unit for emergency backup cold storage due September 22, 2026 (ITB); the City of Austin's IFB for rental, delivery, and maintenance of portable refrigerated containers for DNA evidence storage with Local and Small Business preference discounts due September 15, 2026 (rebid); Texas A&M University's ITB for chiller rental and accessories due September 18, 2026; and Texas Department of Transportation solicitations for ice machine rental and maintenance across the San Antonio, Beaumont, and Odessa districts. Illinois Department of Corrections facilities consistently require firm fixed pricing on monthly bases with 24/7 emergency service and two- to four-hour response times; small-business set-asides are standard in Illinois corrections procurements, and federal compliance (E-Verify, domestic preference, Clean Air Act) applies when procurement is federally funded.