Notice of Intent to Sole Source

The USDA intends to award a sole source firm fixed price purchase order to Waters Technologies Corporation for support and instrument maintenance for H-Class Acquity Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) system.
The purpose of this contract is to secure access to high quality on-site and/or telephone support and software upgrades as soon as they are available. The H-Class Acquity UPLC system and all of its components were designed by Waters and incorporate many features unique to these instrument that are based on proprietary knowledge that is the intellectual property of Waters Corporation. Service engineers not associated with Waters do not have access to this knowledge base and are at significant disadvantage with respect to its maintenance. Furthermore, Waters' field service engineers are highly skilled and trained concerning the applications and troubleshooting of this of this instrument.

This contract action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b) and 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit proposals.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, all quotations/responses received within fourteen (14) days of the issuance of this notice will be considered by the government. A determination by the government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Any quotation/response should be emailed to Jenny.Matte@ars.usda.gov and Althea.Paul@ars.usda.gov. by 5:00 P.M. EST. April 26, 2019.

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