CNC Lathe Machine for the National Data Buoy Center at Stennis Space Center, MS

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Acquisition and Grants Office, Eastern Acquisition Division-Kansas City intends to negotiate and award a purchase order, on a sole source basis, under authority of RFO FAR 6.103-1, with Phillips Corporation in Hanover, MD for Hass ST-20 CNC Lathe Machine and Haas-compatible tooling to be delivered to the National Data Buoy Center at Stennis Space Center, MS.

The sole source determination is based on NOAA’s Sole Source Justification rationale.  This procurement will obtain a Haas ST-20 CNC Lathe machine to manufacture components that are used on all NDBC programs.  All existing CNC mills and lathes at the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) are Haas machines. The Haas ST-20 utilizes the Next-Generation Control (NGC) system which will be common across the facility. Introducing a different brand would require entirely separate proprietary software environments and post-processors.

The NDBC maintains a significant inventory of Haas-compatible tooling. This procurement includes BMT65 tool holders and a Wireless Intuitive Probing System (WIPS) designed to interface with Haas software. Non-Haas alternatives would necessitate an entirely new suite of proprietary tooling and probing hardware.

All NDBC machinists are trained on Haas systems. Training the workforce on a new control language would lead to a substantial loss in productivity and introduce operational risks to mission-critical manufacturing.

Phillips Federal is the exclusive distributor for Haas CNC tools to U.S. Government facilities, providing a single certified point of contact for service and maintenance.

The Haas ST-20 appears to be the only machine meeting the government’s needs due to its compatibility with existing software, tooling, and personnel. Alternative brands would result in excessive costs for retraining and hardware acquisition that would not be recovered through competition.

This pre-solicitation notice is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation package is available. However, firms that believe they can fully meet the government’s requirements may submit substantiating documentation or a request for additional information in writing to Abigail Green, Abigail.green@noaa.gov, within 15 days after publication of this pre-solicitation notice. Such requests and documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this pre-solicitation notice.