Technical systems air cooled water chiller for national marine fisheries service in newport, oregon

***NOAA'S ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, WESTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-BOULDER, ALASKA FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER (AFSC) NEWPORT RESEARCH STATION INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), WITH AIR REPS LLC OUT OF BELLVUE, WA FOR A TECHNCIAL SYSTEMS AIR COOLED WATER CHILLER REPLACEMENT( MODEL # 30AOCM105H7)

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) REQUIREMENT THAT AIR REPS LLC IS THE SOLE PROVIDER OF TECHNICAL SYSTEMS AIR COOLED WATER CHILLERS IN OREGON. TECHNICAL SYSTEMS AIR-COOLED WATER CHILLERS, WILL REPLACE AN IDENTICAL EXISTING CHILLER UNIT WITHIN THE CURRENT CENTRALIZED CHILLING SYSTEM.  THE FISHERIES BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY PROGRAM (FBEP) LOCATED IN NEWPORT, OREGON UTILIZES CHILLED SEAWATER IN THE CONDUCT OF EXPERIMENTS ADDRESSING THE PHYSIOLOGY, GROWTH, AND ECOLOGY OF GULF OF ALASKA, BERING SEA, AND ARCTIC OCEAN FISH AND CRAB SPECIES THAT ARE OF ECONOMIC AND/OR ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE. THE PROGRAM CURRENTLY HAS THREE (3) FORTY-FOUR TON AIR-COOLED WATER CHILLERS THAT ACCOMPLISH THIS TASK. THESE UNITS WERE CUSTOM DESIGNED AND BUILT BY TECHNICAL SYSTEMS (A DIVISION OF RAE CORPORATION), FOR THE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT REQUIRED CAPACITIES, COOLANT TEMPERATURES, COOLANT FLOW RATES, OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY, AND DURABILITY IN THE HARSH COASTAL OREGON MARINE ENVIRONMENT.

A REPLACEMENT TECHNICAL SYSTEMS AIR COOLED WATER CHILLER (MODEL 30AOCM105H7) IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE TWO REMAINING AIR-COOLED WATER CHILLERS AT HATFIELD MARINE SCIENCE CENTER (HMSC), MATCHING EXISTING OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS FOR EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH SEAWATER SYSTEMS THAT REQUIRE CLOSE TOLERANCES FOR CONDITIONS AND MAINTENANCE.  THE EXISTING CHILLERS WORK TOGETHER TO CHILL A COMMON 5,000 GALLON GLYCOL RESERVOIR.  THE GLYCOL IS THEN PUMPED TO REMOTE LOCATIONS (LABS) TO CHILL SEAWATER.  DESIRED WATER TEMPERATURE IN LABORATORIES IS MAINTAINED BY CONTROLLING THE NUMBER OF COMPRESSORS THAT ARE OPERATING BOTH WITHIN AND BETWEEN CHILLERS.  FURTHER, HAVING CHILLER/COMPRESSORS WITH IDENTICAL OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS IS ESSENTIAL WHEN MANAGING THE HOURS PUT ON EACH COMPRESSOR/CHILLER, SO AS TO ASSURE UNIFORM WEAR AND LIFE-EXPECTANCY OF CHILLERS AND COMPONENTS PARTS.  THE REPLACEMENT CHILLER WILL NEED TO HAVE IDENTICAL OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CONTROLS TO WORK WITH THE EXISTING SYSTEM.  THE PURCHASE OF THE ABOVE IDENTIFIED UNIT, WHICH IS ONLY AVAILABLE FROM THE IDENTIFIED VENDOR, WOULD ALSO ALLOW FOR A COST SAVINGS IN MAINTENANCE, ROUTINE SERVICING, INVENTORY OF PARTS, AND THE AVAILABILITY OF INTERCHANGEABLE COMPONENTS AND PARTS.  OPERATION OF THESE CHILLERS REQUIRES ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND SCHEDULED SERVICE THAT WOULD BE SIMPLIFIED BY ASSURING THAT ALL THREE CHILLERS ARE FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURER.  FURTHER, SPARE PARTS (E.G., FAN MOTORS AND COMPRESSORS) MUST BE KEPT IN STOCK SO THAT REPAIRS CAN BE RAPIDLY MADE WITH MINIMUM DOWN TIME, THEREBY REDUCING IMPACTS UPON PROGRAM MISSION AND LOSS OF VALUABLE DATA AND PROGRAM RESOURCES.  HAVING SYSTEMS THAT UTILIZE MANY OF THE SAME PARTS WOULD MINIMIZE THE NUMBER OF PARTS THAT MUST BE KEPT ON HAND, LOWERING THE COST TO THE GOVERNMENT.

A TECHNICAL SYSTEMS MODEL 30AOCM105H7 CHILLER WOULD MATCH THE EXISTING CHILLERS IN CAPACITY, OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS, GLYCOL TEMPERATURES, ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS, SAFETY FEATURES, PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS, SERVICING SCHEDULES AND WOULD SHARE MANY OF THE SAME PARTS AND COMPONENTS WHILE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A NEW GENERATION OF REFRIGERANT (R-507).  A CHILLER FROM ANOTHER MANUFACTURER WOULD NOT HAVE THE SAME DESIGN SPECIFICATION AND WOULD UTILIZE A DIFFERENT “FAMILY” OF PARTS AND COMPONENTS (COMPRESSORS, CONTROL UNITS, FAN MOTORS, ETC.) WHICH WOULD DIFFER FROM THE PARTS AND COMPONENTS OF THE EXISTING UNITS.  THIS WOULD NECESSITATE STOCKING AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT (NON-COMMON) INVENTORY OF PARTS AND COMPONENTS TO DEAL WITH ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR.  THIS WOULD ENTAIL GREATER COST TO THE GOVERNMENT OVER THE LIFETIME OF THE EQUIPMENT.

TECHNICAL SYSTEMS HAS CONFIRMED THAT AIR REPS LLCIS THE ONLY AUTHORIZED RESELLER/ DISTRIBUTOR FOR TECHNICAL SYSTEMS AIR COOLED WATER CHILLERS IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL MARKET LOCATION OF OREGON.

***THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS. SUCH DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS. A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.