remove and replace conveyor system

The Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service seeks design, build, and installation of a new conveyor system at the Cotton and Tobacco Program facility in Abilene, Texas, with quotations due June 2, 2026. This is an unrestricted acquisition issued as a Request for Quotation under FAR Part 12 for commercial items; no set-aside applies, and all responsible sources may submit.

Place of performance is Abilene, TX 79606. The NAICS code is 333922, Conveyor and Conveying Equipment Manufacturing, with a small business size standard of 500 employees.

The scope includes removal of the existing conveyance system and installation of two complete automated conveyor systems supporting cotton sample classification. The system must accommodate approximately 30 containers per minute and include containerized conveyors with specified workstations: one fill station, three loader stations, five High Volume Instrument workstations, two classer stations, and supporting conveyors. Containers must be custom-fabricated ABS plastic (18x11x5 inches). The contractor must provide electrical infrastructure, pneumatic connections, RFIC integration with 21 read/write heads and 450 tags per system, PLC controls using Allen Bradley or equivalent, and a database tracking system. The system must operate 24/7 in a high-lint cotton environment and achieve full operational status by June 30, 2027. The contractor must also provide operator manuals, a minimum 10-year maintenance program with annual pre-season controls tune-ups and post-season preventive maintenance, repair service and spare parts within 24 hours of malfunction notification, and monthly status reports beginning December 1, 2026.

The anticipated award is a five-year firm fixed-price IDIQ contract (base year plus four ordering years) with contract performance running June 5, 2026 through June 4, 2031. All items are required by March 31, 2027. Evaluation criteria are technical approach (ability to meet schedule and SOW requirements), price (fair and reasonable per FAR 12.204), and past performance (acceptable, neutral, or unacceptable). One award is anticipated. Contractors must submit pricing for all eight CLINs to be responsive. Questions are due May 27, 2026 at 4:00 PM ET to jeremy.pouliot@usda.gov; site visits may be arranged with Lajean Van at lajean.van@usda.gov or (325) 690-9378.