Notice of Intent to Sole Source - Thermo Fisher Instruments Maintenance Repair

The Office of Acquisition and Agreements Management (OAAM), Acquisition Management Division (AMD), of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), on behalf of the NIST/Material Measurement Laboratory, intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Thermo Electron North America, LLC, an operating unit of Thermo Fisher Scientific of Rockford, IL, for a comprehensive maintenance agreement for Thermo Fisher Instruments.

The Contractor shall provide comprehensive maintenance agreements for more than 70 pieces of equipment. The types of equipment that will be covered include:  

            -Autosamplers

            -Pumps

            -Quantum Ultra AM

            -Orbitrap Fusion LUMOS

            -Freezers

            -ABI

            -Mass Spectrometers

            -Fluorescence Detector

            -Chiller

            -Column Compartment

            -Wavelength Detector

            -Speedvac

            -UV Detector

The Contractor shall provide a service agreement for the service and maintenance of all equipment to ensure uninterrupted performance within manufacturers’ specifications on both a scheduled and as-needed basis.  Service and maintenance shall include parts, labor, travel, unlimited on-site emergency service, and one preventive maintenance visit per year. The period of performance shall be for a one-year base period and four one-year option periods.   

Sole source determination is based on the following :

-NIST-owned equipment are commercial items that were manufactured by Thermo Fisher Scientific which is owned by Thermo Electron North America. Market Research has demonstrated and Thermo has asserted that they have proprietary rights to the existing equipment and are the sole manufacturer and distributor of the equipment. Thermo has no authorized resellers or service providers, therefore, only they can supply the required service and guarantee that the maintenance and parts will be fully compatible with and meet the original performance specifications for the equipment;

-Only Thermo has access to performance verified component parts, spare parts, software, technical support, and the latest firmware and software updates available for these systems;

-Thermo manages a staff of trained, certified field technicians/engineers. Thermo does not train and certify technicians outside of their own company; and

-The Government requires a service agreement for the primary purpose of securing on-site service for emergency repairs within 72 hours of notifying the Contractor of the issue. This control is most important for repair requests as these are unplanned events. The Contractor must have control over the ability to schedule qualified technicians/engineers for on-site service. Thermo is the sole entity capable of exerting control over the scheduling of qualified technicians to a customer site.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 811210 and the small business size standard is $34.0 M.

No solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, responses received by February 12, 2026, will be considered by the Government.

A determination by the Government not to compete the proposed acquisition 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.