A05_BNJ_Redacted.pdf

This is a Decision to Restrict Competition under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold document issued by the United States Department of Agriculture.

The USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit, located in Ft. Detrick, Maryland, is procuring 3 Solaris 6000 Stackable Shakers with clamp kits through a firm fixed-price purchase order for Fiscal Year 2026. The estimated contract value is not disclosed in the document. The equipment will support mission-critical research on high-consequence plant pathogens and biocontrol agents for invasive weeds by generating large volumes of fungal material for pathogenicity testing. The shakers require precise temperature controls and specific shaking speeds to meet the target fungi's growing parameters. Fisher Scientific Company LLC, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (UEI: F5TEGZ32EJ38), is the suggested manufacturer.

The justification for restricting competition is based on the Thermo Scientific Solaris 6000's unique integrated solution combining orbital shaking with incubated or refrigerated temperature control, stackable design with clamp starter kit, precision PID control maintaining tight temperature accuracy with 15–525 rpm shaking range, advanced programmability and data management capabilities, durable construction with stainless steel chamber and sealed electronics, and long-term reliability. Market research through GSA Advantage determined that competing models (MaxQ 8000, Innova 44, and New Brunswick Innova 42R) failed to meet specifications regarding dimensional constraints, load-bearing capacity of 70 pounds, or shaking speed requirements of up to 500 rpm. No other commercially available shaker system combines the required incubated/refrigerated hybrid functionality, stackable capacity, clamp kit, precision performance, and reliability in a single platform.