RFI_HREO.pdf

Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials

HEAVY RARE EARTH OXIDES

Request for Information

1. DISCLAIMER: This request for information (RFI) is for planning purposes only and is not a request for quote (RFQ), invitation for bid (IFB), or an obligation on the part of the government to acquire any supplies or services. Responses to this RFI are not quotes or offers and cannot be accepted by the government to form a binding contract. The government will determine if/how to proceed based on the results of this notice. Companies that respond to this notice should not expect to receive feedback regarding submissions. The government will not pay any costs incurred in response to this notice. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the expense of the responding party. The information provided in this notice is subject to change and is not binding on the government. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. 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.

2. SCOPE OF WORK: The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials Directorate is seeking information for the potential acquisition of Dysprosium oxide – approximately 30 metric tons; Gadolinium oxide – approximately 900 metric tons; Samarium oxide – approximately 3,500 metric tons; Terbium oxide – approximately 10 metric tons for addition into the National Defense Stockpile.

3. POTENTIAL DELIVERY LOCATIONS:

• Hammond Depot: 3200 Sheffield Avenue, Hammond, IN 46327-1003

• Hawthorne Depot: 1 South Main Ave., Hawthorne, NV 89415-9404

• Scotia Depot: Route 5, BLDG 12, Scotia, NY 12302

4. DESCRIPTION OF INFORMATION REQUESTED: All interested vendors with experience/capabilities as outlined above must provide a capability statement that includes the following:

A. GENERAL DATA

i. Company name.

ii. GSA contract number if applicable.

iii. Other government-wide contracts/numbers if applicable (e.g., SEWP, JETS, ESI, etc.).

iv. Socioeconomic status(es).

v. CAGE code.

vi. UEI number.

vii. Size of business relative to NAICS code.

viii. Mailing address.

ix. Name, telephone number, and email address for primary point of contact (POC) with the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with government representatives and can verify the demonstrated capabilities.

x. Any questions or clarification requests regarding the requirement.

xi. Examples of direct experience as a prime contractor performing the stated work – please provide the contract number, agency, the scope/value of the contract, the length of the contract, the functions you did under the contract, and/or the role your company played.

xii. Examples of relevant non-prime experience performing the stated work – please provide the contract number, agency, the scope/value of the contract, the length of the contract, the functions you did under the contract, and/or the role your company played.

xiii. Identify any regulations, certifications, or equipment you have or have used, that are necessary to the function of this requirement.

xiv. Identify your intentions to team or subcontract any work and what percentage of work you are capable of in your own right and what percentage you are subcontracting to similarly situated small businesses and what percentage to other than small businesses (large or non-profit entities).

xv. If you have been mainly a subcontractor, do you have the skill to manage the contract as a prime?

xvi. Does your company have the financial resources to support this effort? Payments are typically made within 30 days of invoice acceptance and invoices are submitted in arrears. If not, then from whom will you get your credit line? Do you already have a credit line? Can you get one big enough to support this contract? Provide your creditor’s name and the amount you can cover.

B. DYSPROSIUM OXIDE

i. SUPPLY INFORMATION

1. Where is your source of dysprosium oxide located? If there are multiple sources, please estimate what percentage of the material comes from which location.

2. Please describe your supply chain of dysprosium oxide from source of the material to final processing - specifically indicating any instances where the material is not located in CONUS.

3. What is your annual overall production/throughput/consumption?

4. Estimate how long it would take to complete production of the amounts listed in section 2?

5. Does the time of year affect the availability and/or the production of dysprosium oxide? If yes, how?

6. Are you involved with recycling this material?

7. How do you typically price the material?

8. Can you provide a current market price for the produced specifications or purity levels?

ii. MATERIAL INFORMATION

1. What grades, forms, and specifications of dysprosium oxide do you provide?

2. In your experience, what grades, forms, and specifications of dysprosium oxide are most common for defense use?

3. What are these specifications used for?

4. Is there a grade, purity requirements, specification, or form of dysprosium oxide that serves as a baseline for other tungsten products or applications?

5. Are there specific purity requirements, specifications, or forms for aerospace and defense?

6. Are there any known impurities that have adverse effects on performance?

7. What are the common impurities, and how do they occur?

8. What are the accepted industry limits of those impurities in the material to be provided?

9. How are these impurities tested? Please specify which method for which element or compound.

10. What are the locations of the impurities?

11. What is the frequency which these impurities occur in a production batch?

12. How are the impurities tested for (what are the industry standard tests, and equipment used for those tests)?

13. Do you have an internal laboratory testing the material? What testing is performed? How often is the material tested?

14. Do you use an external laboratory? If yes, which laboratory do you use? What testing is performed? How often is the material tested?

iii. DELIVERY INFORMATION

1. What is your typical time from order to delivery for dysprosium oxide?

2. What delivery quantities do you typically provide?

3. Have you used subcontractors to produce/provide this material?

4. Where would the deliveries originate from? If there are multiple locations, please list all locations.

5. What is your delivery capacity per year?

6. Estimate how long it will take to complete deliveries of the amounts listed in section 2?

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

8. Approximately what quantity of material would constitute a lot/batch?

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

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

11. What is the preferred method of delivery?

12. What is the preferred packaging method? Please describe any requirements (crates for handling, boxes, padding, wrapping, stacking, inerting, etc.)

13. What are the industry standards for packing?

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

15. Any restrictions or other information you deem pertinent to deliveries?

iv. STORAGE INFORMATION

1. What are the common storage conditions for dysprosium oxide?

2. For how long is dysprosium oxide typically stored prior to use?

3. Please provide information on the following: (The material will be stored at a government depot. It is not uncommon for NDS inventory to be stored for periods of time exceeding twenty-five years):

4. Shelf life

5. Environmental impact

6. Regulations

7. Material Rotation Requirements

8. Do you have any recommendations for long-term storage?

9. Describe your safety and environmental controls for storage and handling of this material.

v. MARKET INFORMATION

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

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

3. Are there frequent changes in the market price for this material? If yes, how do you address those changes?

4. 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? If so, what are they?

5. 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 dysprosium oxide that will affect the demand of the material? If so, what are they?

C. GADOLINIUM OXIDE

1. Where is your source of the gadolinium oxide located?

2. If there are multiple sources, please estimate what percentage of the material comes from which location.

3. Please describe your supply chain of gadolinium oxide from source of the material to final processing - specifically indicating any instances where the material is not located in CONUS.

4. What is your annual overall production/throughput/consumption?

5. Estimate how long it would take to complete production of the amounts listed in section 2?

6. Does the time of year affect the availability and/or the production of gadolinium oxide? If yes, how?

1. What is/are the common specifications used in industry? What are these specifications used for?

2. What specifications of material do you produce? What is the pricing information for the produced specifications?

3. Are there any known impurities that have adverse effects on performance? What are the common impurities, and how do they occur?

4. What are the accepted industry limits of those impurities in the material to be provided?

5. How are these impurities tested? Please specify which method for which element or compound.

6. What are the locations of the impurities?

7. What is the frequency which these impurities occur in a production batch?

8. How are the impurities tested for (what are the industry standard tests, and equipment used for those tests)?

9. Do you have an internal laboratory testing the material? What testing is performed? How often is the material tested?

10. Do you use an external laboratory? If yes, which laboratory do you use? What

1. What is your typical time from order to delivery for gadolinium oxide?

2. Have you used subcontractors to produce/provide this material?

3. Where would the deliveries originate from? If there are multiple locations, please list all locations.

4. What is your delivery capacity per year?

5. Estimate how long it will take to complete deliveries of the amounts listed in section 2?

6. Approximately what quantity of material would constitute a lot/batch?

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

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

9. What is the preferred method of delivery?

10. What are the industry standards for packaging?

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

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

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

13. Any restrictions or other information you deem pertinent to deliveries?

1. What are your recommended storage conditions for gadolinium oxide?

2. Please provide information on the following: (The material will be stored at a government depot. It is not uncommon for NDS inventory to be stored for periods of time exceeding twenty-five years):

Shelf life Environmental impact Regulations Material Rotation Requirements

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

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

3. Are there frequent changes in the market price for this material? If yes, how do you address those changes?

4. 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? If so, what are they?

5. 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 gadolinium oxide that will

D. SAMARIUM OXIDE

1. Where is your source of the samarium oxide located? If there are multiple sources, please estimate what percentage of the material comes from which location.

2. Please describe your supply chain of samarium oxide from source of the material to final processing - specifically indicating any instances where the material is not located in CONUS.

3. What is your annual overall production/throughput/consumption?

4. Estimate how long it would take to complete production of the amounts listed in section ?

5. Does the time of year affect the availability and/or the production of samarium

ii. MARKET INFORMATION specifications used for?

2. What specifications of material do you produce? What is the pricing information for the produced specifications?

3. Are there any known impurities that have adverse effects on performance?

4. What are the common impurities, and how do they occur?

5. What are the accepted industry limits of those impurities in the material to be provided?

6. How are these impurities tested? Please specify which method for which element or compound.

7. What are the locations of the impurities?

8. What is the frequency which these impurities occur in a production batch?

9. How are the impurities tested for (what are the industry standard tests, and equipment used for those tests)?

10. Do you have an internal laboratory testing the material? What testing is performed? How often is the material tested?

11. Do you use an external laboratory? If yes, which laboratory do you use? What

1. What is your typical time from order to delivery for samarium oxide?

2. Have you used subcontractors to produce/provide this material?

3. Where would the deliveries originate from? If there are multiple locations, please list all locations.

4. What is your delivery capacity per year?

5. Estimate how long it will take to complete deliveries of the amounts listed in section 2?

6. Approximately what quantity of material would constitute a lot/batch?

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

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

9. What is the preferred method of delivery?

10. What are the industry standards for packaging?

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

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

1. What are your recommended storage conditions for samarium oxide?

2. Please provide information on the following: (The material will be stored at a government depot. It is not uncommon for NDS inventory to be stored for periods of time exceeding twenty-five years):

Shelf life Environmental impact

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

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

3. Are there frequent changes in the market price for this material? If yes, how do you address those changes?

4. 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? If so, what are they?

5. 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 samarium oxide that will

E. TERBIUM OXIDE

1. Where is your source of the terbium oxide located? If there are multiple sources, please estimate what percentage of the material comes from which location.

2. Please describe your supply chain of terbium oxide from source of the material to final processing - specifically indicating any instances where the material is not located in CONUS.

3. What is your annual overall production/throughput/consumption?

4. Estimate how long it would take to complete production of the amounts listed in section 2?

5. Does the time of year affect the availability and/or the production of terbium specifications used for?

2. What specifications of material do you produce? What is the pricing information for the produced specifications?

3. Are there any known impurities that have adverse effects on performance?

4. What are the common impurities, and how do they occur?

5. What are the accepted industry limits of those impurities in the material to be provided?

6. How are these impurities tested? Please specify which method for which element or compound.

7. What are the locations of the impurities?

8. What is the frequency which these impurities occur in a production batch?

9. How are the impurities tested for (what are the industry standard tests, and equipment used for those tests)?

10. Do you have an internal laboratory testing the material? What testing is performed? How often is the material tested?

11. Do you use an external laboratory? If yes, which laboratory do you use? What

1. What is your typical time from order to delivery for terbium oxide?

2. Have you used subcontractors to produce/provide this material?

3. Where would the deliveries originate from? If there are multiple locations, please list all locations.

4. What is your delivery capacity per year?

5. Estimate how long it will take to complete deliveries of the amounts listed in section 2?

6. Approximately what quantity of material would constitute a lot/batch?

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

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

9. What is the preferred method of delivery?

10. What are the industry standards for packaging?

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

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

1. What are your recommended storage conditions for terbium oxide?

2. Please provide information on the following: (The material will be stored at a government depot. It is not uncommon for NDS inventory to be stored for periods of time exceeding twenty-five years):

Shelf life Environmental impact

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

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

3. Are there frequent changes in the market price for this material? If yes, how do you address those changes?

4. 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? If so, what are they?

5. 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 terbium oxide that will

F. GENERAL INFORMATION

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

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

iii. If you were requested to provide sales data identifying the percentage of material sold to the Government and the percentage of material sold to the general public, would you comply?

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

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

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

vi. Does your company have a cage code?

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

5. Any information provided by industry to the government in response to this RFI is strictly voluntary.

Responses will not be returned. As a reminder, no entitlements to payment of any direct or indirect costs or changes to the government will arise as a result of vendor submission of responses or the government’s use of such information. The information obtained from industry responses to this notice may be used in the development of an acquisition strategy and a future RFQ if applicable. The limit for all responses is 20 pages single-sided in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format with a maximum of 12-point font on an 8.5 x 11 page with margins of 1”. Proprietary information, if any, must be clearly marked.

6. Interested vendors should submit their response as well as any questions through email to the contract specialist, (Christy Boyer @ christy.boyer@dla.mil) and Contracting Officer, (Alicia Barrowman @ alicia.barrowman@dla.mil) with “RFI – HREO” in the subject line. Responses must be received by (09SEP25 before 5pm EST). It is the vendor’s responsibility to ensure the email was received and is viewable. Verbal questions/responses will not be accepted.

https://www.sam.gov/ mailto:alicia.barrowman@dla.mil