USNS BYRD Door Controllers

The Military Sealift Command, a component of the Department of the Navy, has published a Special Notice announcing its intent to make a sole source award to RYTEC CORPORATION for upgrading Rytec Roll-up doors with door controllers aboard the USNS RICHARD E BYRD. This notice serves as advance notification of the government's procurement strategy and was posted on June 13, 2025, with a due date of June 20, 2025. The opportunity falls under the Metal Window and Door Manufacturing NAICS category and involves building components classified as prefabricated. No set-aside provisions have been applied to this procurement, indicating it is open to all eligible contractors, though the government has predetermined its sole source approach.

The primary purpose of this notice is to inform the contracting community of the government's intention to procure door controllers directly from the original equipment manufacturer due to proprietary rights and technical limitations that prevent competition. The Military Sealift Command has justified this sole source approach by citing their lack of manufacturing and technical information necessary to evaluate alternative non-OEM service providers or replacement parts. According to the attached justification document, RYTEC CORPORATION, located in Jackson, Wisconsin, is identified as the only source capable of providing these specific door controller components. The procurement follows Federal Acquisition Regulation guidelines for simplified acquisitions under the simplified acquisition threshold, with the justification emphasizing restrictive rights, standardization requirements, and the inability to evaluate equivalent alternatives. While the notice indicates a June 20, 2025 deadline, the predetermined sole source nature effectively limits participation to the identified contractor.