Purchase of Outdoor Air-Cooled Condensing Unit for Conviron model GR144 Plant Growth Room

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is conducting market research for the procurement of a Conviron Outdoor Air-Cooled Condensing Unit to support an existing Conviron model GR144 Plant Growth Room at their Office of Applied Microbiology and Technology. This specialized equipment will enable researchers to conduct method development, optimization, and validation for fresh produce matrices linked to foodborne illness outbreaks, allowing them to work with actual outbreak strains in a BSL2 laboratory environment rather than relying on surrogate organisms. The FDA is seeking both small business sources and Other Than Small Business concerns capable of providing this analytical laboratory instrument, which falls under NAICS code 334516 with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees. Interested parties must submit capability statements that include business information, technical capabilities, past performance references, and potential delivery timelines. The deadline for responses is July 10, 2025, at 1:00 PM Central Time, with submissions directed to david.kramer@fda.hhs.gov.

This procurement does not utilize any set-aside designation and is open to all qualified contractors regardless of size. The contract requires delivery and installation of one condensing unit at the FDA MOD1 facility in Laurel, Maryland, with projected completion milestones ranging from 60 to 260 calendar days after contract award. While this is currently a market research notice rather than a formal solicitation, the FDA is encouraging respondents to provide informational pricing for both purchase and lease options to support their procurement planning. No incumbent contractors or current award values are specified in the notice, as this represents the initial market research phase of the acquisition process. The equipment will directly support the FDA's food safety mission by enhancing their capability to simulate various environmental conditions for produce growth and pathogen detection research.