RFP 374689-DSF.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

#374689-DSF

Distribution Valve Box

October 24, 2025

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

2. INVITATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSAL

3. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE AND

SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING PLAN

4. EXPLANATION OR INTERPRETATION OF RFP DOCUMENTS / QUESTION PERIOD .. 2

5. CONTACT WITH FFDG PERSONNEL/BLACKOUT PERIOD

6. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION

7. PROPOSAL DUE DATE

8. LATE SUBMISSION

9. EXCEPTIONS AND DEVIATIONS

10. OFFEROR’S MODIFICATION AND WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS

11. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE

12. SUBCONTRACT AWARD

13. PREPARATION, SUBMISSION, AND EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

A. PART I – TECHNICAL PROPOSAL/EVALUATION CRITERIA

B. PART II – BUSINESS MANAGEMENT & PRICE PROPOSAL

14. DESCRIPTION OF WORK

15. DELIVERY TERMS

16. RESTRICTION ON DISCLOSURE AND USE OF DATA

17. EXHIBITS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FORM

The following requirements must be adhered to for the Offeror’s submission of Proposals to Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC (FFDG) in support of this specific requirement.

1. INTRODUCTION

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab or FNAL), managed and operated by Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC (FFDG) under the prime contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is seeking to subcontract for scope of work aligned with mission objectives.

The Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) project is an essential upgrade to Fermilab’s accelerator complex to enable the world’s most intense high-energy beam of neutrinos for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment at LBNF and a broad physics program, powering discoveries for many decades to come. The PIP-II accelerator (Linac) design is based on superconducting radio frequency (SRF) technology employed by twenty-three SRF cryomodules.

The linac requires cryogenic helium for operation, which is provided by the Cryogenic Distribution System (CDS). The CDS comprises the equipment needed to feed and return cryogenic helium from a cryogenic plant to the SRF cryomodules. The CDS includes Distribution Valve Box (DVB) assembly, intermediate transfer line (ITL), and tunnel transfer line (TTL)

In support of this project, FNAL requires this acquisition for the Distribution Valve Box (DVB) as defined in the Statement of Work (SOW), Exhibit A: ED0044301 PIP-II CDS DVB Statement of Work (Exhibit A).

2. INVITATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSAL

You are invited to submit a proposal for the items specified in this Request for Proposal (RFP), by the provisions contained herein, and the terms and conditions of the proposed firm-fixed price subcontract entered into as a result of this solicitation.

3. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE AND

SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING PLAN

This acquisition is unrestrictive and contains no set-aside provisions. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this solicitation is 332420, Metal Tank (Heavy) Manufacturing. The small business size standard for this NAICS code is 750 employees.

A small business subcontracting plan will be required should the awardee not meet the definition of a small business as described in the paragraph above, and the subcontract exceed $750,000.00. The Subcontracting Plan shall follow the Federal Acquisition Clause, 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan (See Exhibit D. FL-55 - Small Business Subcontracting Plan). A draft plan must be submitted with your RFP response.

4. EXPLANATION OR INTERPRETATION OF RFP DOCUMENTS / QUESTION PERIOD

The prospective offeror should examine and review the solicitation with care. Any prospective offeror who has questions or desires an explanation or interpretation of the solicitation, drawings, specifications, etc., must request it in writing by 2:00 P.M. CST, November 3, 2025, and be submitted to the Procurement Specialist at the email address identified on the Request for Proposal Form and below. Oral explanations or instructions given before the award of a subcontract will not be binding. Any information given to a prospective offeror concerning a solicitation will be furnished promptly to all other prospective offerors as an amendment to the solicitation if that information is necessary for submitting proposals or if the lack of the information would be prejudicial to other prospective offerors.

Any and all changes to these specifications are valid only if they are included by a written addendum and shall become a part of the subcontract.

All questions concerning this RFP should be submitted in email form and directed to the Procurement Specialist identified below.

Procurement Specialist: Seth Fryar Phone: (630) 840-3665 Email: sfryar@fnal.gov

Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC Procurement Department Kirk Road & Wilson Street Batavia, IL 60510-0500

5. CONTACT WITH FFDG PERSONNEL/BLACKOUT PERIOD

All offerors are prohibited from making any contact (including sales calls) with officials or employees of FFDG (collectively “FFDG personnel”) with regard to the request for proposals, other than in the manner and to the persons designated herein, until after an award has been made. The Chief Procurement Officer or their designee reserves the right to disqualify any offeror found to have contacted FFDG personnel in any manner regarding the proposal request.

6. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION

FFDG may, by addenda/amendment, modify any provision or part of this RFP at any time before the award of any resultant subcontract. All terms and conditions that are not modified remain unchanged.

An offeror shall acknowledge receipt of any addenda/amendments to this RFP. Failure to acknowledge may result in the disqualification of an offeror’s proposal with no further consideration for an award. The acknowledgment shall be provided in one of the following ways:

• Immediately upon receipt of the amendment via an email sent to the FFDG Procurement

Specialist.

• Return of the Amendment with a signature on the acknowledgment signature line; or

• In the offeror’s proposal.

7. PROPOSAL DUE DATE

The offeror’s proposal shall be emailed to the Procurement Specialist no later than 2:00 P.M. CST, November 21, 2025. Partial or incomplete proposals [including required documents (e.g. project timeline, examples of prior work, references, submission of the Request for Proposal Form)] may be considered non-responsive and will not be considered for an award.

8. LATE SUBMISSION

Proposals received by FFDG after the Submittal Date and Time indicated may not be considered.

The Respondent assumes the risk of the method of dispatch chosen.

9. EXCEPTIONS AND DEVIATIONS

Any exceptions to the General Terms and Conditions identified herein MUST be documented on a separate sheet on the Offeror’s Letterhead with your proposal submission. Exceptions to FFDG’s Terms and Conditions MUST be clearly and completely indicated on a company letterhead.

FFDG is not required to accept any exceptions or deviations.

mailto:sfryar@fnal.gov

Any exceptions or additional terms noted on a Quote Form will not be considered and are hereby expressly rejected. Likewise, any references—whether through language or hyperlink—to additional terms and conditions are not accepted and are similarly rejected.

Offerors taking exceptions, deviations, or conditional assumptions to the specifications provided herein must clearly identify and explain each exception/deviation, or conditional assumption taken with sufficient amplification and justification to permit evaluations. Such exceptions, deviations, or conditional assumptions will not themselves automatically cause a proposal to be deemed unacceptable to FFDG. However, a large number of exceptions or one or more significant exceptions not providing benefit to FFDG may result in the rejection of the offeror’s proposal as unacceptable.

NOTE TO OFFERORS: Please be advised that any exceptions to the specifications or to FFDG’s terms and conditions may cause your proposal to be disqualified.

10. OFFEROR’S MODIFICATION AND WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS

The offeror may submit modifications to its proposal at any time before the solicitation closing date and time and may submit modifications in response to an amendment or to correct a mistake at any time before award.

Proposals may be withdrawn at any time before the submission deadline. Withdrawals are effective upon receipt of notice by the Procurement Specialist.

11. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE

Where there appear to be variances or conflicts, the following order of precedence shall prevail:

FFDG’s drawings (if applicable), FFDG’s Statement/Scope of Work, and the RFP General Terms and Conditions.

12. SUBCONTRACT AWARD

Issuance of the RFP does not compel FFDG to make an award. FFDG reserves the right to accept or reject all proposals if that is determined to be in its best interest. A decision may be made without discussion; hence, an offeror’s proposal should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms.

The proposed award is based on a continuing program requirement and the issuance of obligation authority from the Procurement Department of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL).

Any subsequent award issued by FFDG shall be constituted in writing by authorized representatives of the Procurement Department of the FNAL.

No other representatives of FFDG are authorized to issue contracts or agreements or bind FFDG to any form of agreement or understanding. The authorized Procurement Department official of the FNAL is the only individual who can legally commit FFDG to the expenditure of funds in connection with this proposed procurement.

13. PREPARATION, SUBMISSION, AND EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

This is a best-value trade-off source selection. This process permits tradeoffs between cost or price and non-cost factors. As a result, FFDG will accept an offer based on the totality of the proposal, not simply based on the lowest-priced proposal. All evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. An award shall be made to the offeror who is deemed most responsive and responsible by FFDG, whose proposal conforms to the solicitation’s requirements and is judged to represent the best value to FFDG. FFDG intends to award without discussions. FFDG shall be the sole determiner of what is of the best value to FFDG.

FFDG reserves the right to cancel this solicitation at any time without incurring any liability or damages associated with such cancellation.

Under no circumstances shall FFDG be responsible for any proposal preparation expenses, submission costs, or any other expenses, costs, or damages, of whatever nature, incurred as a result of an offeror’s participation in this RFP process. The Offeror understands and agrees that it submits its proposal at its own risk and expense and releases FFDG from any claim for damages or other liability arising out of the RFP and award process.

FFDG shall not be liable for any errors in the offeror’s proposal submission. Except during negotiations initiated by FFDG, no modifications to the proposal shall be accepted from the offeror after the Submittal Date. The offeror is responsible for a careful review of their entire proposal to ensure that all information, including pricing, is correct and complete. Offerors are liable for all errors or omissions contained in their proposals.

FFDG reserves the right to award a subcontract only to responsive and responsible proposers.

Responsive offers are defined as a proposal that meets all of the minimum requirements (e.g.

submits all required documents, meets minimum years requirement, etc.). Responsible proposers are defined as companies that demonstrate the financial ability, resources, skills, capability, willingness, and business integrity necessary to perform on the subcontract. FFDG shall be the sole determiner of whether an offer or Offeror is considered responsive and/or responsible.

The proposal shall be submitted in two (2) parts: Part I - Technical Proposal and Part II – Business/Management Proposal. Under no circumstances shall Part I and Part II be bound together or presented in such manner as to make them not severable. The Technical Proposal shall not contain any reference to cost other than what is referenced in Current/Past Projects.

Any information of a proprietary nature shall be CLEARLY MARKED and identified in the offeror’s submission.

Offerors shall explain, provide support, and address each of the Evaluation Criteria below, which will assist FFDG in the Source Selection process. All information shall be provided in a clear and organized manner. Additionally, Offerors may state any recommendations or areas of concern related to the scope of work requirements in their proposals.

A. Part I – TECHNICAL PROPOSAL/EVALUATION CRITERIA

Offerors shall provide information for the following technical criteria to enable FFDG to evaluate technical capability.

1. Technical Merit & Quality

The Technical Proposal must demonstrate the Offeror’s ability perform the fabrication and deliver the assembly with performance that meets or exceeds the specifications as reported in the SOW (Exhibit A). Offerors must address the following evaluation factors:

• Overall Quality of Proposal - Offerors are to submit a detailed technical proposal that demonstrates the ability of the Offeror to design, engineer, manufacture, test, and deliver the assembly with performance that meets or exceeds the SOW (Exhibit A).

• Technical Capabilities, Experience, and Infrastructure – Offerors are to include documentation showing technical capabilities, staffing level and experience, and infrastructure to fabricate, assemble, and perform all factory acceptance tests specified in the SOW (Exhibit A).

• Quality Assurance and other Plans - Offerors are to include copies of:

o Quality Assurance Plan o Sample shipping and handling plan

2. Past Experience

Offerors shall provide documentation demonstrating experience with projects of a similar size, scope, and complexity. At minimum, the offeror shall submit two (2) relevant examples from the past ten (10) years for each of the following criteria:

• Supplying cryogenic equipment of similar scale and complexity – Offerors are to include documentation showing past experience of supplying vacuum insulated, multi-line, distribution valve boxes for cryogenic helium at the level of scale and complexity similar to PIP-II DVB.

• Building ASME equipment – Offerors are to include documents showing their past experience of designing, engineering, manufacturing, acceptance testing ASME compliant normal fluid piping systems for cryogenic helium service at pressures and temperatures stated in the SOW.

• Demonstrate experience working with specialized cryogenic instrumentation – Offers are to include documentation showing experience of instrumenting cryogenic systems with specialized cryogenic thermometry, vacuum feedthroughs, liquid helium level probes; integrating cryogenic control valves with piping and vacuum components

Each example shall include the following:

• Customer name;

• Project Name and Location;

• Project Description;

• Total Contract Amount;

• Contracted project schedule duration;

• Project Start and Completion Date. If a current project, please provide the Percent

(%) complete and the projected completion date.

• Examples of documentation

3. Management Control Plan

Provide documentation to demonstrate the ability to ensure the required quality standard throughout the entire execution of the project. Examples of documentation developed for past projects (within the last five years) viz. Quality Control Plan, Manufacturing Inspection Plan, Factory Acceptance Verification Matrix, which demonstrate the ability of performing inspection and testing will be considered for the technical evaluation.

4. Delivery Schedule and Milestones

Offerors must demonstrate the ability to deliver a fully functional DVB within 50 weeks ARO. Offerors to submit a Gantt chart or similar with details and granularity specified in the SOW (Exhibit A).

B. Part II – BUSINESS MANAGEMENT & PRICE PROPOSAL The Business Management and Price proposal submitted shall include, at a minimum, the following documentation:

1. Price Proposal

The proposed pricing of the PIP-II CDP DVB in accordance with the specifications as defined in the SOW (Exhibit A) shall be included on the Request For Proposal Form provided herein. THE OFFEROR MUST SUBMIT THEIR PRICING USING THE

FORM PROVIDED HEREIN.

If a subcontract is awarded to the offeror, payment shall be issued upon delivery, inspection, testing (if applicable) and acceptance of each assembly as defined on the Request for Proposal Form, pursuant to the General Terms and Conditions, and the Statement of Work as identified herein.

The proposed pricing shall be a firm-fixed price for the work as identified herein, and the price proposal shall be valid for 90 days from the final proposal due date. An Offeror allowing less than the minimum acceptance period as identified herein may be rejected without further consideration for an award.

All pricing must be submitted in USD, and no allowances shall be made for currency conversion during the term of the subcontract.

Economic price escalation language will not be accepted or considered.

FFDG may consider a proposal nonresponsive if the prices proposed are materially unbalanced. A proposal is considered materially unbalanced when the price of one or more line items in a submission is significantly overstated or understated, even though the total price may be acceptable when reviewing using cost or price analysis techniques. This would include a reasonable doubt that the proposal will result in the lowest overall cost to FFDG, even though it may be the lowest evaluated proposal, or if it is so unbalanced as to be tantamount to allowing an advance payment.

When applicable, FFDG will reimburse the subcontractor for actual costs (e.g., freight, pre-pay and add) incurred. No allowance shall be made for overhead and profit; any invoice containing overhead, profit, surcharges, handling costs, etc., will be rejected.

1.1 Duties/Tariffs

FFDG recognizes that international shipments may be subject to additional charges related to duties and tariffs. Shipping terms shall be DAP with the Subcontractor responsible for all shipping and handling costs to Batavia, Illinois. FNAL will be responsible for payment of duties. FNAL will provide its designated customers broker information to the Subcontractor following award and prior to shipment.

1.2 Milestone Payments

FFDG may, at its discretion, consider milestone payments as part of the award determination process. If an offeror proposes milestone payments, such requests must be clearly identified in the original pricing proposal and accompanied by detailed terms and justification. Milestone payments will be evaluated as part of the overall proposal review.

FFDG reserves the right to accept or decline milestone payments based on what is determined to be in the best interest of FNAL. FNAL may reject any proposal that includes milestone payments if such terms are determined to introduce undue risk, administrative burden, or misalignment with project objectives.

2. Subcontractor Annual Representations & Certifications (SARC), Form SARC The SARC certification submitted by the successful Offeror will be incorporated into the subsequent subcontract. If an offering entity is a joint venture, association, consortia, or partnership, each member entity must submit an individual Representations and Certifications Form (Exhibit E).

3. Proposal Certifications, Form PUR-466 The PUR-466 certification submitted by the successful Offeror will be incorporated into the subsequent subcontract. All sections are required to be completed and must be signed by a company official (Exhibit F).

14. DESCRIPTION OF WORK

The selected subcontractor shall provide all labor, materials, tools, equipment, and supervision required to complete all fabrications and assemblies as defined as follows:

• Exhibit A: ED0040981 Statement of Work

• Exhibits B1-B3: Drawings

The awarded offeror shall deliver the specified quantities of the fabricated assemblies in full compliance with the fabrication requirements outlined in the referenced specifications and drawings. All fabrication shall follow the approved quality assurance plan and will be subject to the acceptance criteria defined herein.

15. DELIVERY TERMS

The Offeror shall propose a schedule the meets the lead times as defined in the SOW (Exhibit A), with final delivery of the completed PIP-II CDS DVB at 50 weeks.

A shipping readiness review will be required prior to each shipment as described in the SOW (Exhibit A).

Delivery terms shall be FOB Destination Fermilab, Batavia, IL for domestic offerors, which shall include shipping/freight costs within their firm-fixed-price proposal submission.

Delivery terms shall be DAP Fermilab, Batavia IL per Incoterms 2020 for non-domestic vendors.

Non-domestic offerors will be provided with FFDG’s Customs Clearance Broker Information upon subcontract award.

The Subcontractor shall handle and transport the assemblies to Fermilab site in strict adherence to the clauses in the SOW (Exhibit A).

The Offeror must include their shipping/freight costs on the Price Submission Sheet within their proposal.

16. RESTRICTION ON DISCLOSURE AND USE OF DATA

Offerors or quoters who include in their proposals or quotations data that they do not want to be disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by FFDG except for evaluation purposes, shall –

A. Mark the title page with the following legend:

“This proposal or quotation includes data that shall not be disclosed outside FFDG and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed – in whole or in part – for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal or quotation. If, however, a subcontract is awarded to this Offeror or quoter as a result of – or in connection with – the submission of this data, FFDG shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting subcontract.

This restriction does not limit FFDG’s right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The data subject to this restriction are contained in sheets (insert numbers or other identification of sheets)”, and

B. Mark each sheet of data it wishes to restrict with the following legend “Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal or quotation.”

17. EXHIBITS

A. ED0044301 Statement of Work B. PDF Drawings C. FFDG General Terms and Conditions For Supplies (08.2025) D. FL-55 – Small Business Subcontracting Plan E. Subcontractor Annual Representations & Certifications (SARC) (Rev. 3) (04/08/2022) F. PUR-466 Proposal Certifications Rev 3 G. Sample Subcontract

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Procurement Department Finance Section 630.840.3665 sfryar@fnal.gov

DATE: 10/24/2025

DUE DATE: 11/21/2025

RFP#: 374689-DSF

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FORM

ITEM QTY DESCRIPTION UNIT PRICE

TOTAL

(USD) DEL. DATE

Fermilab requests your firm-fixed-price proposal for the following items per the terms and conditions referenced herein.

1 1 PIP-II Cryogenic Distribution System Distribution Valve

Box

2 1 Shipping Costs

NAICS: 332420

Size STD: 750 Employees

ANY AND ALL exceptions to specifications and/or extra charges for containers, tooling, etc. MUST be clearly indicated.

COMPANY NAME ___________________________________ MATERIALS, SUPPLIES OR SERVICES RESULTING FROM THE QUOTE ADDRESS ____________________________________ ARE FOR WORK DONE UNDER PRIME CONTRACT#DE AC02-07CH11359 TERMS NET 30 FOB/INCO; DEST/DAP WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. ANY ITEMS SUBMITTED BY ___________________________________ COVERED BY G.S.A. CONTRACTS SHOULD ALSO BE INDICATED.

DATE SUBMITTED __________________________________