Diffusion Bonding Questionnaire.docx

MARKET SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

TACOM PM, Main Battle Tank Systems (MBTS) “Material Bond Strength”

PURPOSE:

The TACOM Program Management Main Battle Tanks Systems Group is conducting a market survey to identify potential Hub-zone companies that can conduct iterative testing to establish performance boundaries for material bond strength and scaled ballistic response through a diffusion chemical bonding process and solid-state quenching processes on Titanium, Steel, and other materials and establish performance boundaries for the material bond strength through scaled ballistics testing.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

The submission of information in response to this market survey is for planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government to procure any items or services described herein, or for the Government to pay for the information received.

Respondents that cannot answer all the market survey questions in this survey need not respond. Receipt of an incomplete market survey will not be reviewed.

As a condition of responding to this survey, it is a requirement that potential responders be a registered Hub-zone company with the Small Business Administration and possess the means to conduct chemical bonding/solid-state quenching processes and iterative ballistic testing.

Participation in this market survey is strictly voluntary and the U.S. Government will not reimburse contractors for any cost incurred for their participation in this survey. All information is to be submitted at no cost or obligation to the Government.

This is NOT a pre-solicitation notice. This notice does not constitute an Invitation for Bid or Request for Proposal and is not to be construed as a solicitation, and no award shall be made on the basis of this notice. There is no formal solicitation available at this time, no solicitation will be issued against this notice, and this request for information does not obligate the Government to issue a solicitation.

Data submitted in response to this market survey will not be returned. The market survey is NOT a request to seek contractor interest in being placed on a solicitation mailing list.

Respondents shall not be notified of the results of the survey or results of information submitted. Telephone or email inquiries will not be honored.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE QUESTIONNAIRE

The survey response shall NOT exceed 50 pages. Submittal will be in text format only. Do not send pictures, graphics, etc.

· All questions must be addressed.

· Font size no smaller than 12 point.

· Responses must include the question number associated with the applicable answer.

· Spell out acronyms in their first instance.

Electronic responses are required to use AMRDEC Safe located at https://safe.amrdec.army.mil/safe/. Please title contractor response as “Market Survey Response for Material Bond Strength for Main Battle Tank Systems”

Please include the following administrative information:

1. Company Name

2. Mailing Address and Website

3. Location of facilities

4. CAGE Code (if applicable)

5. North America Industry Classification System (NAICS) number

6. Business size and eligibility under USG Hub-zone programs

Person Responding to Questionnaire

a. Name

b. Title

c. Company Responsibility

d. Telephone Number/Fax Number

e. E-Mail Address

Please send the Market Survey response to Contract Specialist Kathy Kessler at Kathy.a.kessler.civ@army.mil.

No telephone responses or email questions will be accepted.

Responses are due no later than close of business on 30 June 2023. Describe your firm’s recent and relevant experience in the competencies outlined below.

Your experience must have been within the last three years. If your experience extends beyond 3 years, please provide 1 contract within the past 10 years. When citing Government work you must include Contract numbers and Government POCs.

1. Describe your company’s experience and processes with improving performance of metals and/or structural metallic systems.

1. Has your company worked with the U.S. Government in development of armor or other specialty metallic systems? If so, please provide contract #.

1. Describe your company’s experience with metal bonding of various types of metals. Specifically note similar and dissimilar metal systems, and whether that experience is with commercialized or developmental processes.

1. Describe your company’s experience with solid-state quenching and any other relevant specialized processing for improving performance of bonded/joined metals.

1. Describe your company’s experience in development of specialized processes for performance enhancement, including iterative testing to establish performance boundaries.

GENERAL INFORMATION: The Government appreciates the time and effort taken to respond to this survey. The Government acknowledges its obligations under 18 U.S.C. 1905 to protect information qualifying as “confidential” under this statute. [To avoid possible confusion with the meaning of the term “confidential” in the context of Classified Information, we will use the term “PROPRIETARY.”] Pursuant to this statute, the Government is willing to accept any PROPRIETARY (e.g., trade secret) restrictions placed on qualifying data forwarded in response to the survey questions and to protect it from unauthorized disclosure, subject to the following:

1. Clearly and conspicuously mark qualifying data with the restrictive legend (all caps) “PROPRIETARY” with any explanatory text, so that the Government is clearly notified of what data needs to be appropriately protected.

2. In marking such data, please take care to mark only those portions of the data or materials that are truly proprietary (over breadth in marking inappropriate data as “PROPRIETARY” may diminish or eliminate the usefulness of your response – see Item 6 below). Use circling, underscoring, highlighting or any other appropriate means to indicate those portions of a single page which are to be protected.

3. The Government is not obligated to protect unmarked data. Additionally, marked data that is already in the public domain or in the possession of the Government or third parties, or is afterward placed into the public domain by the owner or another party through no fault of the Government will not be protected once in the public domain. Data already in the possession of the Government will be protected in accordance with the Government’s rights in the data.

4. Proprietary data transmitted electronically, whether by physical media or not, whether by the respondent or by the Government, shall contain the “PROPRIETARY” legend, with any explanatory text, on both the cover of the transmittal e-mail and at the beginning of the file itself. Where appropriate for only portions of an electronic file, use the restrictive legends “PROPRIETARY PORTION BEGINS” and “PROPRIETARY PORTION ENDS.”

5. In any reproduction of technical data or any portions thereof subject to asserted restrictions, the Government shall also reproduce the asserted restriction legend and any explanatory text.

6. The Government sometimes uses support contractors in evaluating responses. Consequently, responses that contain proprietary information may receive only limited or no consideration, since the Respondent’s marking of data as “PROPRIETARY” will preclude disclosure of same outside the Government and therefore, will preclude disclosure to those support contractors assisting the evaluation effort. The Government will use its best efforts to evaluate those responses that contain proprietary information without using support contractors consistent with the resources available.