Justification and Approval Decision to Restrict Competition Under the SAT Solicitation 1232SA26Q0806 Redacted.pdf

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

The requisition (1168448) is for a TrackSphere Locomotion Compensating device capable of recording and analyzing the movements of insects ranging from 1-10 mm in size. The requesting activity is the Agricultural Research Service, Biological Control of Insects Research, located in Columbia, Missouri. The equipment enables analytical procedures for rapid identification of chemical signals influencing insect behavior and supports evaluation of behavior-modifying compounds for pest control tool development. The suggested source is Ockenfels Syntech GmbH, located in Buchenbach, Germany. The market research conducted by USDA found that prior purchases of this equipment came from only one known manufacturer, with the most recent purchase occurring in 2020. An internet search identified only one possible supplier for this specialized equipment type. Scientific literature searches confirmed that all studies citing this equipment identified the same supplier as the sole source, with no alternative manufacturers or suppliers of this equipment type identified.