Maintenance Service Plan for Waters H-Class UPLC System - Base year plus 4 Option year periods

The United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service intends to award on a single-source basis a maintenance service plan for a Waters H-Class UPLC system equipped with a QDa mass-sensitive detector, with quotations due August 28, 2026. Waters Technologies Corporation (34 Maple Street, Milford, MA 01757) is the proposed vendor; however, all timely responses will be considered, and the Government retains sole discretion to compete the contract based on responses received.

Performance takes place at USDA ARS, 538 Tower Road, Ithaca, New York. The contract period runs one base year (September 20, 2026 through September 19, 2027) plus four optional one-year periods. Service coverage includes one scheduled preventive maintenance visit annually performed by a Waters-trained service engineer, unlimited high-priority corrective maintenance visits on-site with 48-hour response time at least 75 percent of the time, and high-priority telephone and online support during normal business hours. All replacement parts must be genuine Waters components. Preventive maintenance covers solvent management, sample management systems, UV/Vis detectors, QDa detector subsystems, and software/firmware updates. Corrective maintenance and support must be staffed by Waters-trained field service engineers.

Evaluation will follow lowest-price technically acceptable methodology under FAR 12.203. Only the lowest priced quoter receives technical acceptability review; if that quoter is found technically unacceptable or has unacceptable past performance, evaluation proceeds to the next lowest priced quoter. Contractors must hold prices firm for 90 calendar days from quote receipt. Questions are due Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at 12:00 PM Central Time to melissa.santos@usda.gov.