Brand Name Justification and Approval_Redacted.pdf

CUI//SP-PROCURE//FEDCON

Control Number:

Justification & Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition (Brand Name)

Ice Harbor Dam Upstream Tainter Gate Fabrication

Requiring Activity: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Walla Walla District, Ice Harbor Lock and Dam, 2763 Monument Dr., Burbank, WA 99323.

Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Walla Walla District (CECT-NWW) 201 North 3rd, Walla Walla, WA 99362.

Description of the Action: This action is a new firm-fixed-price contract non-commercial supplies -- a new Upstream Tainter Gate for Ice Harbor

Dam. This acquisition is subject to an approved class request for approval for non-commercial procurement, Large or Complex Civil Works Fabrication Contracts. This J&A supports the use of brand name components in the supply fabrication. The Government will not purchase the components directly but rather will require that offerors include the provision and installation of these brand name components as part of bids submitted in response to a competitive solicitation that will lead to the award of a new supply contract.

Description of Supplies: The specified brand name ingredients within the vinyl paint formula for this project are outlined in the Department of Defense (DoD) Unified Facilities Guide Specifications (UFGS), UFGS 09 97 02 Painting: Hydraulic Structures he identified ingredients that make up this vinyl paint system are the only ones tested and approved by USACE Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) for use as protective coating on underwater steel structures. The vinyl paint system will be applied to a newly fabricated steel structure.

Although the vinyl paint system can be procured from multiple manufacturers, certain ingredients within the paint system are limited to the brand name options from the specific manufacturers listed below. Decades of performance testing indicate altering the paint formulation to use options other than the specific brand name ingredients would result in an unacceptably inferior protective coating system. The ingredients listed in part 3 below mitigate the risk of an inferior protective coating and any unforeseeable costs, including repairs and future maintenance, and maintain the integrity of the premier protective coating system test and approv from ERDC ERL.

These ingredients make up a small portion of the overall paint system. The specific ingredients required in the paint formulas are estimated at .

Ingredients for Special Paint Formulas as outlined in UFGS 09 97 02 include the items in the following table.

Ingredient Product Supplier Titanium Dioxide

Kronos 2160 Kronos, Inc.

Titanium Dioxide

Kronos 2101 Kronos, Inc.

Titanium Dioxide

Ti-Pure 960 E.I. Dupont DeNemours and Co., Inc.

Suspending Agent E

MPA-14 Elementis Specialties

Suspending Agent F

Bentone 27 Elementis Specialties

Vinyl Resin, Type 3

Vinnol H 15/50 Wacker Chemie AG

Vinyl Resin, Type 4

Vinnol H 15/45 M, Wacker Chemie AG

Silane B Silane A-1120 Momentive Performance Materials Inc.

Silane B Silane Z-6020 Dow Corning Corporation

5. Authority Cited: FAR 6.302-1; 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) (When the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source […] and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for).

6. Reason for Authority Cited:

a. Background: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers developed formulations for vinyl coatings in the early 1950’s for the protection of the hydraulic structures on the Mississippi River, as well as other navigation and hydropower structures throughout the country. In addition to providing needed corrosion protection to these critical structures, vinyl coatings are especially resistant to damage by the floating ice and debris commonly encountered on navigable waterway structures. These coatings can be applied by small business contractors using common application equipment. The ability to apply these coatings over a wide temperature and humidity range results in a long painting season. Formulations for alternative coatings as well as extensive testing of proprietary products over the decades has not identified any alternatives with comparable application properties or service lives.

Commercially available products commonly used for the protection of immersed structures, such as water storage tanks, typically exhibit 20-25% of the service life of vinyl coatings when exposed to the harsh environment of a Corps navigation structure. Vinyl coatings do contain a high percentage of solvents (often referred to as VOC) but are allowed for use by the national VOC emission standards for architectural coatings (40 CFR Appendix Table 1 to Part D of Part 59) as well as by the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) model rule for marketing and use on structures with impacted immersion service.

Vinyl coatings are based on formulations developed specifically to enhance their performance on hydraulic structures. The resins used have a very high molecular weight to attain the ultimate combination of hardness and elasticity.

Resins can be manufactured by either an emulsion-based or a more costly solution-based process but for the required water resistance, only the solution-based process resins are acceptable. This limits the number of potential manufacturers who can supply the resin. The specification identifies a specific manufacturer’s resins that can be used to meet the various salient requirements for the finished product. Paint manufacturers who opt to evaluate the resins produced by alternate resin manufacturers may do so as specified in UFGS 09 97 02.

b. Justification: The new upstream gate requires coating to protect the structure from corrosion. Without proper coating, steel structures like this gate are highly susceptible to rapid corrosion, which can lead to functional failure and safety hazards. The specified vinyl paint system has been rigorously tested both in laboratory settings and over decades of real-world, field applications, consistently demonstrating exceptional performance in safeguarding submerged steel structures from corrosion. The special paint formulas, namely, the specific product names and suppliers identified in Section 3 above, are supplies that are only available from one responsible source and no other type of supplies will satisfy USACE’s requirements.

Formulations for alternative coatings, as well as extensive testing of proprietary products over the decades, has not identified any alternatives with comparable application properties or service lives.

c. Impact: If this J&A is not approved, an alternate paint system would have to be specified. These alternatives offer reduced performance, leading to accelerated corrosion and subsequent long-term maintenance costs.

Currently available alternate coatings have an anticipated service life of approximately 10 years, significantly less than the expected 30+ year lifespan of vinyl coatings.

d. Alternatives: The proprietary raw materials are critical to the performance of the vinyl paint systems. If they are not available, alternate coating systems (i.e, non-vinyl paint systems) would need to be used. At this time, the available alternative coating systems would result in greater life cycle costs for the corrosion protection of Corps hydraulic structures and will result in accelerated corrosion. Greater costs and poorer performance of the coating system is unacceptable to the Government.

i. Although resins used to make the vinyl paint systems may be available from one alternate supplier, initial laboratory evaluations have indicated problems with quality control. Providing paint manufacturers with the name of a raw material supplier having products with non-reproducible properties would be counterproductive. No other potential suppliers have been identified.

ii. The 3 proprietary TiO2 products are all premium products from their respective manufacturers. Alternative products may be available, but identifying suitable products would require additional cost and time-consuming research, resources that are not expected to be recovered through competition.

iii. The additives used in paints and many other commercial products are highly proprietary. Research has shown that only clay-based materials can be used without adversely affecting the adhesion properties of the VZ-108 paint; however, even the clay type materials have proprietary surface treatments that affect their performance in the finished paint. Alternative sources of these materials have not been identified.

7. Efforts to Obtain and Increase Competition: The CERL (the USACE paint technology center) is conducting ongoing research to evaluate commercially available alternatives to the vinyl paints. The Contracting Officer will publish the notices required by FAR 5.201 and any bids received shall be considered.

8. Market Research: Market research has not uncovered alternative acceptable sources of supply for the vinyl paint system ingredients. In accordance with DFARS PGI 206.302-1(d), a Request for Information, W912EF25RSN21, regarding the use of brand name paint ingredients was issued on September 30, 2025, and closed on October 3, 2025. No responses were received.

9. Interested Sources:

GUNDERSON MARINE LLC / Cage Code: 80EN6 STEWARD MACHINE CO INC / Cage Code: 9E328

THOMPSON METAL FAB, INC. / 9H513

GREENBERRY INDUSTRIAL LLC / 598L3

KNIGHT CONST. & SUPPLY, INC / 1GP13

10. Other Facts: None

Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Structural Engineer

Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Project Manager

Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated price/cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. The cost of the specific brand name ingredients contained within this J&A are estimated to be . Because multiple sources are capable of supplying the vinyl paint systems that contain the proprietary ingredients, a fair and reasonable price determination will be made based on competition at the time of award.

Contracting Officer

Contracting Officer Certification: In accordance with the authority of 10 U.S.C.

3204(e), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 and based upon the foregoing, I hereby determine that a brand name procurement is authorized and is in the best interest of the Government.

Contracting Officer

Office of Counsel Determination: In accordance with the requirements of UAI 5101.602-2-90, I have reviewed the determination and find it is legally sufficient.

Deputy District Counsel