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This Sources Sought Notice is issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office (NCO) 19 to conduct market research for a Firm Fixed Price Blanket Purchase Agreement for Automated Special Stains Reagent Rental services at the James Mountain Inhofe VA Medical System in Muskogee, OK. The procurement seeks an automated instrument for staining anatomic pathology fixed tissue slides with specific technical requirements, including capability to process 11 different special stains with varying annual slide volumes, hold 1-20 slides per carousel, and meet precise dimensional and temperature control specifications.

The solicitation targets Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), small businesses, and large businesses under NAICS code 532490. The contract period of performance is April 1st, 2026 to March 31st, 2031, with a deliverable deadline of March 1st, 2026. Interested vendors must submit detailed company information, business size status, and respond by December 22nd, 2025 at 10:00 AM Central Time. The contractor will be responsible for providing all equipment, parts, service, maintenance, and routine shipping for the reagent/instrument rental operation.

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Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice

SUBJECT*
623 (Activation) Lab Special Stains -equipment rental reagent CPK- - PKG 276 CHIP-IN,

GENERAL INFORMATION

CONTRACTING OFFICE’S ZIP CODE*
80111
SOLICITATION NUMBER*
36C25926Q0126
RESPONSE DATE/TIME/ZONE
12-22-2025 10AM CENTRAL TIME, CHICAGO, USA
ARCHIVE
30 DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE
RECOVERY ACT FUNDS
N

SET-ASIDE

PRODUCT SERVICE CODE*
6640
NAICS CODE*
532490
CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS
Department of Veterans Affairs

Network Contracting Office

NCO 19

6162 South Willow Drive, Suite 300 Greenwood Village CO 80111

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contracting Specialist KaDarius Griffin Kadarius.Griffin@va.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

ADDRESS
Department of Veterans Affairs

Network Contracting Office (NCO 19)

1011 Honor Heights Dr.

Muskogee OK

POSTAL CODE
74401

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL
https://www.va.gov
URL DESCRIPTION
Department of Veterans Affairs
AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS
NCO19Lab@va.gov
EMAIL DESCRIPTION
NCO 19 LABS Branch

DESCRIPTION

The Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office (NCO) 19, Rocky Mountain Acquisition Center is issuing this sources sought notice as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in, and the resources to support, this requirement to provide a Firm Fixed Priced Blanket Purchase agreement for Automated Special Stains Reagent Rental services. for the James Mountain Inhofe VA Medical System (JMIVAMC). Located at 1011 Honor Heights Dr, Muskogee, OK 74401.

Salient Characteristics Operational features:

1. Function as a stand-alone automated instrument for staining of anatomic pathology fixed tissue slides.

2. Must be fully automated capability of baking, deparaffinization, and staining of special stains

3. Must be capable of holding between 1-20 slides per slide carousel

4. Must be capable of independent temperature control for each position and regulate between 37°C–75°C (98°F–167°F)

5. Must have minimum 25 reagent positions

6. Must be capable of staining slides sizes: 25 mm x 75 mm, 26 mm x 76 mm

7. Bulk fluids: Up to four bulk fluids in 3–6 L onboard containers

8. Must be CSA, EMC and CE compliant

9. Due to space constraints, allowable instrument dimensions (WxDxH) are approximately: 20in W x 25in D x 53.3in H (50.8 cm x 63 cm x 135.4 cm)

10. Instruments must be able to process following special stains:

Stain
Estimated Annual Slide Volume
AFB
20
Alcian Blue
160
Congo Red
20
Elastic
20
Giemsa
100
GMS
150
Gram
20
Iron
100
Mucicarmine
20
PAS
150
Reticulum II
50
Trichrome Blue
20
Pap Stain (Optional)
150

Contractor Requirements: The contractor shall provide all equipment, parts, service, and maintenance necessary for cost per kit reagent/instrument rental operation of the equipment and shall pay routine shipping fees for such. This includes required provision of workstations and hard drives, replacement, shipping and service on workstations and hard drives.

Period of Performance:

April 1st 2026 – March 31st 2031

Deliverable:

Before March 1, 2026

NCO 19 is performing market research to determine if there is a sufficient number of qualified (1) Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB); (2) Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB); (3) Small or emerging small business firms who can fulfill the requirement; and (4) Large businesses. This Sources Sought notice is issued for the purpose of market research in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12. All SDVOSB, VOSB, small and large businesses capable of fulfilling the requirement are invited to respond

NAICS code to be used for this acquisition is 532490 All interested firms who can MEET and FULFILL the requirements stated in the “Summary of Requirements” below should respond, in writing, with the following information:

In response to this announcement, please provide the information below. If this information is not provided, then it will be assumed the entire requirement cannot be met:

NAICS Code: 532490

Company Name:

Address:

UEI (Unique Entity ID) Number:

Contact Name:

Phone No.:

Email:

Business Size Information - Select all that applies:

· Small Business

· Emerging Small Business

· Small Disadvantaged Business

· Certified under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act

· HUBZone

· Woman Owned

· Certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small

· Veteran Owned Small Business

· Large Business

FSS/GSA Contract Holder:
Yes No

FSS/GSA Contract Number:

Effective Date/ Expiration Date:

Proposed solution is listed and available on the above FSS/GSA Contract:
Yes No

Available pricing structure of proposed solution (select all that are applicable below):

Pricing Model
Please Indicate Availability Below: (Yes / No / NA)
All on FSS
Open Market only
Mix of FSS & Open Market

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Market Rearch Questions:

Buy American Act (FAR 52.225) – What percentage of the proposed product (including leases) is a:

1. Domestic end product? _____________ (%)

2. Foreign end product? _______________ (%) Country of Origin :

Questions for Small Businesses ONLY:

1. Limitations on Subcontracting (FAR 52.219-14) – What percentage of the work would be subcontracted to another company? ________ If > 0, what is company’s business size: __________

2. If subcontracting, what added value do you offer (FAR 52.215-23): _______________________________

3. Nonmanufacturer Rule (FAR 52.219-33):

a. Does your company manufacturer these proposed items? [ ] yes [ ] no

b. Does your company exceed 500 employees? [ ] yes [ ] no If yes, list # of employees: _________

c. Does your company primarily engaged in the retail or wholesale trade and normally sells the type of item being supplied? [ ] yes [ ] no

d. Does your company take ownership or possession of the item(s) with its personnel, equipment or facilities in a manner consistent with industry practice? [ ] yes [ ] no

e. Does your company supply the end item of a small business manufacturer, processor or producer made in the United States, or obtains a waiver of such requirement pursuant to paragraph (b)(5) CFR 121.406. [ ] yes [ ] no If yes, what is the manufacturer’s name? ________________

The information submitted shall contain the company’s business size status. This is a request for information and sources only, which may or may not lead to future solicitation. This is not a request for quote (RFQ). No questions will be answered. The VA will not pay for any information received resulting from this source sought notice. Requests for copies of a solicitation shall not be honored or acknowledged. Information should be forwarded to the Contracting Specialist. If your organization can provide all services of this potential requirement and is interested in this opportunity, please respond to Kadarius Griffin, Contracting Specialist, Department of Veterans Affairs, NCO 19. Or via email at Kadarius.Griffin@va.gov, and NCO19Lab@va.gov The deadline for this information to be received is Monday, December 22nd, 10:00AM Central Standard Time. PHONE CALLS NOT ACCEPTED.

*= Required Field
Sources Sought Notice

Sources Sought Notice

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