UPLC™ Acquity™ High Resolution Columns and Guards

The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) is seeking to procure UPLC Acquity High Resolution Columns and Guards from Waters Corporation through a Request for Quotation (RFQ). This procurement will support regulatory testing and confirmation of antibiotics and drug residues in meat animal tissue at three FSIS laboratories located in St. Louis, MO, Albany, CA, and Athens, GA. The contract will be an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) arrangement with a base year and four one-year option periods. The evaluation will be conducted on a lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) basis, with technical proposals limited to 10 pages and requiring demonstration of compliance with Statement of Work requirements. Quotes must be submitted by January 8, 2025, at 2:00 PM EST to barbara.nelson@usda.gov, with an anticipated award date of January 14, 2025.

The solicitation is not set aside for any specific business category and is open to qualified vendors. Waters Corporation is identified as the sole source for these specific columns and guards, as they are the original equipment manufacturer with no authorized resellers. The contract has a maximum ceiling price of $500,000 and a minimum order value of $10,000 across all contract periods. The procurement requires specific Waters Corporation products, including various UPLC BEH columns, VanGuard pre-columns, Premier BEH columns, needle kits, cartridges, and vials. Delivery is expected within 14 days of order placement, and contractors must maintain active SAM registration and comply with Section 508 accessibility standards. The specific NAICS code for this procurement is 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing), and the PSC category is 6640 (Laboratory Equipment and Supplies).