Specialty Gas IDIQ Contract for the USDA National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment

The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment is seeking specialty gas supplies through an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The procurement covers 14 varieties of compressed gas cylinders including breathing air, argon, carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen at various purity levels ranging from 99.8% to 99.9999%, plus liquid dewars of argon and nitrogen. Contractors must provide delivery within three working days of order receipt and make twice-weekly deliveries during business hours, with all cylinders and dewars rented from the contractor rather than sold. The contract will be evaluated using Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) criteria, where technical acceptability is determined by meeting all solicitation requirements and demonstrating acceptable past performance. Proposals were originally due August 7, 2025, though Amendment 1 indicates ongoing modifications to delivery requirements and pricing structures.

This procurement is set aside 100% for small businesses under NAICS code 325120 (Industrial Gas Manufacturing) with a size standard of 1,200 employees. While no specific contract value is disclosed, the solicitation establishes a minimum order threshold of $50 and maximum single order limit of $750,000, suggesting potentially substantial aggregate value over the contract term. The five-year performance period runs from September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2030, with pricing structured across five annual ordering periods. All services will be performed at the USDA National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment facility located at 1015 N. University Blvd, Ames, Iowa 50010. The contractor must be an authorized vendor or manufacturer, with third-party offers explicitly excluded from consideration.