RFI_Aluminum-Commercially Pure_Final_05222025.pdf

Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials Request for Information (RFI)

Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials Request for Information (RFI)

1.0 Description

1.1. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials Contracting Directorate is seeking information on how an interested contractor could provide products for the commercially pure aluminum acquisition.

1.2. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, DLA Strategic Materials is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.

Responders are advised that DLA Strategic Materials will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with response to this RFI will be the sole responsibility of the interested party. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, the contract opportunity will be synopsized on the SAM.gov website. The potential offeror is responsible for monitoring this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

1.0 Background

DLA Strategic Materials is the operational agent of the Stockpile Manager, Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition & Sustainment (USD-A&S), charged with implementation of the provisions of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. Section 98 et seq., hereafter referred to as the “Act”). Section 2(b) of the Act requires the Stockpile Manager to “…provide for the acquisition and retention of stocks of certain strategic and critical materials…, to decrease and to preclude, when possible, a dangerous and costly dependence by the United States upon foreign or single sources of supplies for such materials in times of national emergency”.

1.1 Proposed Buy: 150,000 metric tons of commercially pure aluminum

1.2 Proposed Delivery Period: Five (5) years from the date of contract award

1.3 Limitations: none

1.4 Security Requirements: N/A

2.0 Requested Information

DLA Strategic Materials Directorate is seeking information for the potential acquisition of commercially pure aluminum.

2.1 Commercially Pure Aluminum Information

a. What is unit of measure that you use to price the required material?

Request for Information

i. Is this unit of measure industry standard?

b. From where are your raw materials sourced?

c. If there are multiple sources, please estimate what percentage of materials comes from which location.

d. What is your annual overall production/throughput/consumption of commercially pure aluminum? Please respond using the unit of measure listed in 3.1.a.

e. How much raw material for commercially pure aluminum is stockpiled, if any, and how often is the inventory replenished?

f. How does the time of year affect the availability of the material?

g. Which grades of aluminum from the following types do you provide?

i. P0610A, P1020A.

ii. If there are any other aluminum grades that you provide, can you please list them accordingly?

iii. Are any of the grades listed produced per industry material specifications? If so can you please list which material specifications apply?

h. What downstream aluminum alloys require the use of the grades listed in 3.1.g?

i. If known, can you please identify the specific commercially pure aluminum grade required for producing each aluminum alloy listed?

i. Can you please rank the aluminum grades listed in 3.1.g and provided by you in

3.1.g.ii. by order of demand, from highest to lowest?

i. What are the annual demand quantities for each grade listed?

ii. Of these quantities, how much is for defense applications, if known?

j. Can you please include end use applications for the grades listed in 3.1.g and 3.1.g.ii., for both civilian and defense?

k. In what form(s) do you sell this material? (i.e. blocks. ingot, powder, etc.)

i. What common sizes are these forms produced in? (i.e. block/ingot dimensions, particle size, etc.)

ii. In what unit of quantity are these forms produced? (i.e. per lot, per heat, per batch, etc.)

iii. How is this unit of quantity defined?

l. Please include any comparable Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and Certificates of

Analyses (COA) for products from your company.

2.2 Testing of Aluminum

a. Please list the crucial impurities that have adverse effects on performance

i. What are the limits of these impurities in products that are specified?

ii. How are these impurities tested (frequency, location, etc.)?

iii. Please list the applicable test specifications and method for each element/impurity.

b. Please list any other tests that may be performed on the material

i. What are the associated testing requirements of each test (property limits, minimums, frequency, location, etc)?

ii. Please list the applicable test specifications and method for each test.

c. For the tests listed in 3.2.a-b, are these tests performed at your internal laboratory, an external laboratory, or both?

i. Please indicate internal or external laboratory testing for each test listed.

ii. If you send samples to an external laboratory, which laboratory do you use?

d. Is there an expected percentage of material to be lost during testing?

2.3 Storage

a. What are the common storage conditions for aluminum and are there any concerns about long term storage under these conditions?

b. How long is aluminum typically stored prior to use?

c. The material will be delivered to and stored at a Government depot. It is not uncommon for National Defense Stockpile (NDS) inventory to be stored for periods of time exceeding twenty-five years, so please provide the following information:

i. What is the maximum obtainable shelf life for aluminum?

ii. Under what storage conditions can this shelf life be achieved?

iii. Material Rotation Requirements: does stockpiled material need to be removed and replenished with new material at any point during long term storage? If so, please explain the requirements.

d. Please provide information on environmental impact and regulations of aluminum.

2.4 Delivery Information

a. What is your typical turnaround time for aluminum from the date of receiving a contract/award to delivery?

b. Do you typically use subcontractors to produce/provide this material or service?

c. From where would the deliveries originate? If there are multiple locations, please list all locations.

d. What is your delivery capacity per year?

e. What is your typical unit of sale (e.g. Pounds, kilograms, short tons, metric tons)?

f. About how long would it take to complete deliveries of 150,000 metric tons?

g. Do you provide spot deliveries? If so, how much could you typically provide and in what timeframe could you deliver?

h. Does your company offer a discount for either long-term supply orders or large volume orders?

i. What is the preferred delivery method?

j. What is the preferred method of packaging? Please describe any requirements

(crates for handling, boxes, padding, wrapping, stacking, etc.)

k. What is the industry standard for packaging? How is cracked/chipped/damaged material typically handled?

l. Is there an expected percentage of material to be lost during delivery? Storage?

m. Are there any safety concerns with packing or transporting this material?

n. Are there any restrictions or other information you deem pertinent to deliveries?

2.5 Market Information

a. If possible, can you please provide pricing information for the various grades listed in 3.1.g and 3.1.g.ii?

b. In the next two to five years, are there any anticipated manufacturing process changes, mature technology development programs, or shifts in end-user requirements that are likely to result in a change in the material?

i. If so, what are they?

c. In the next two to five years, are there any anticipated material substitutions that may drive a transition towards or away from the use of commercially pure aluminum that will affect the demand of the material?

i. If so, what are they?

d. Are there frequent changes in the market price for this material?

i. If yes, how do you address those changes?

e. What customer market sector(s) (i.e., defense, aerospace, commercial, automotive) purchases your material?

f. What additional amount of material per year could you deliver without disrupting deliveries to your current customers, hiring additional personnel, or expanding output capacity?

g. Please describe your supply chain of commercially pure aluminum from source of the material to final processing, specifically indicating any instances where the material is not located in the Continental United States (CONUS).

i. Please describe issues you observe affecting your current supply chain.

ii. Please describe any potential issues you envision that may have a significant impact on your supply chain.

2.6 General Information

a. Please provide a copy of a redacted commercial contract that includes your standard terms and conditions.

b. Do you have provisions for agreements longer than one year? If so, how long term is tolerable?

c. Do you have an active WAWF account for submitting electronic invoices?

d. Please provide sales data identifying the percentage of material sold to the

Government and the percentage of material sold to the general public.

e. Would you agree to a contract that contains Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) clause 52.216-2-Economic Price Adjustment—Standard Supplies?

f. Is your company registered in the System for Award Management (SAM)?

(https://www.sam.gov/).

g. Does your company have a cage code? If so, what is it?

h. Please submit lessons learned from current or previous contract awards.

3.0 Responses

4.1. All interested vendors shall submit responses in Microsoft Word or Office 2010 compatible format no later than 06 JUNE 2025, 17:00 EST. Responses shall be submitted via email to Felicia.London@dla.mil and Victoria.McPherson@dla.mil. If late information is received, it may or may not be considered depending on agency time constraints.

4.2. Proprietary information, if any, MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

4.3. Part 1 of the response shall provide administrative information and shall include the following as a minimum:

a) Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and email of designated point of contact.

b) Recommended contract strategy.

c) Either, (1) copies of executed non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the contractors supporting DLA Strategic Materials in technical evaluations or (2) a statement that the responders will not allow the Government to release its proprietary data to the Government support contractors. In the absence of either of the foregoing, the Government will assume that the responder does NOT agree to the release of its submission to Government support contractors.

d) Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-https://www.sam.gov/ disabled veteran-owned small business) based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 331524, Aluminum foundries, except die-casting.

“Small business concern” means a concern, including its affiliates that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the criteria and size standards in 13 CFR Part 121. A small business concern for the purposes of this procurement is generally defined as a business, including its affiliates, averaging no more than 550 employees. Please refer to Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 19 for additional detailed information on Small Business Size Standards. The FAR is available at https://www.acquisition.gov/

e) The facility security clearance of the offeror.

4.4. Part 2 of the response shall include answers to Section 3 of this RFI, “Requested Information.”

4.0 Industry Discussions

DLA Strategic Materials representatives may or may not choose to meet with potential offerors. Such discussions would only be intended to get further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements, especially any development and certification risks.

5.0 Questions

Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by email to the Contracting office, email address above. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions will be answered by posting answers to the SAM.gov website; accordingly, questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 06 JUNE 2025, 17:00 EST will be answered.

6.0 Summary

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY to identify sources that can provide commercially pure aluminum for a potential future acquisition. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. DLA Strategic Materials has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should NOT be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.